Sign in

Asian Journal of Sports Medicine

Sports Medicine Research Center, TUMS

e-ISSN 2008-7209
p-ISSN 2008-000X
Authors GuideSubmit manuscript

Outline

https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34782

Physique and Body Composition in Soccer Players across Adolescence

Authors

Pantelis Theodoros NikolaidisPantelis Theodoros Nikolaidis ORCID1,*, Nikos Vassilios Karydis2
1Division of Physical and Cultural Education, Hellenic Army Academy, Greece
2Department of Physical Therapy, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
*Corresponding Author: :: Hellenic Army Academy, Vari 16673, Athens, Greece, [email protected]. Email: [email protected]
Asian Journal of Sports Medicine:Vol. 2, issue 2; 75-82
Published online:May 31, 2011
Article type:Research Article
Received:Mar 04, 2011
Accepted:Apr 10, 2011
How to Cite:Nikolaidis PT, Vassilios Karydis N. Physique and Body Composition in Soccer Players across Adolescence. Asian J Sports Med. 2011;2(2):34782. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34782

Abstract

Purpose:

Although the contribution of physique and body composition in soccer performance was recognized, these parameters of physical fitness were not well-studied in adolescent players. Aim of this study was to investigate physique and body composition across adolescence.

Methods:

Male adolescents (N=297 aged 12.0120.98 y), classified into nine one-year age-groups, child (control group, N=16 aged 7.3411.97 y) and adult players (control group, N=29 aged 21.0131.59 y), all members of competitive soccer clubs, performed a series of anthropometric measures (body mass, height, skinfolds, circumferences and girths), from which body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat (BF%), fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM) and somatotype (Heath-Carter method) were calculated.

Results:

Age had a positive association with FM (r=0.2, P<0.001) and FFM (r=0.68, P<0.001), and a negative association with BF (r=?0.12, P=0.047). Somatotype components changed across adolescence as well; age was linked to endomorphy (r=?0.17, P=0.005), mesomorphy (r=0.14, P=0.019) and ectomorphy (r=?0.17, P=0.004). Compared with age-matched general population, participants exhibited equal body mass, higher stature, lower body mass index and lower BF.

Conclusion:

During adolescence, soccer players presented significant differences in terms of body composition and physique. Thus, these findings could be employed by coaches and fitness trainers engaged in soccer training in the context of physical fitness assessment and talent identification.

Highlights

KeywordsAnthropometryDevelopmentBody FatSomatotypeSport

Full Text

Full text is available in PDF

Copyright

© 2011, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.

Similar Articles

1
Sep
2012

Elevated Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percentage Are Associated with Decreased Physical Fitness in Soccer Players Aged 12–14 Years

Pantelis Nikolaidis
PDF

Nikolaidis P. Elevated Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percentage Are Associated with Decreased Physical Fitness in Soccer Players Aged 12–14 Years. Asian J Sports Med. 2012;3(3):e93506. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34687

28
Feb
2010

Effect of Training on Physiological and Biochemical Variables of Soccer Players of Different Age Groups

Indranil Manna,
Gulshan Lal Khanna,
Prakash Chandra Dhara
PDF

Manna I, Khanna GL, Chandra Dhara P. Effect of Training on Physiological and Biochemical Variables of Soccer Players of Different Age Groups. Asian J Sports Med. 2010;1(1):34875. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34875

25
Jul
2026
Match Activity Analysis in U15-U17 Elite Iranian Soccer Players

Match Activity Analysis in U15-U17 Elite Iranian Soccer Players

Seyd Ali Hosseini,
Kia Ranjbar,
Sadegh Amani Shalamzari
PDF

Hosseini SA, Ranjbar K, Amani Shalamzari S. Match Activity Analysis in U15-U17 Elite Iranian Soccer Players. Asian J Sports Med. 2025;16(4):e169187. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm-169187

7
Mar
2016

Kinetic Post-match Fatigue in Professional and Youth Soccer Players During the Competitive Period

Leo Djaoui,
Jorge Diaz-Cidoncha Garcia,
Christophe Hautier,
Alexandre Dellal
PDF

Djaoui L, Diaz-Cidoncha Garcia J, Hautier C, Dellal A. Kinetic Post-match Fatigue in Professional and Youth Soccer Players During the Competitive Period. Asian J Sports Med. 2016;7(1):e28267. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.28267

11
Sep
2017

Which Body Fat Anthropometric Indicators are Most Strongly Associated with Maximum Oxygen Uptake in Adolescents?

Eliane Cristina de Andrade Goncalves,
Heloyse Elaine Gimenes Nunes,
Diego Augusto Santos Silva
PDF

Goncalves ECDA, Elaine Gimenes Nunes H, Augusto Santos Silva D. Which Body Fat Anthropometric Indicators are Most Strongly Associated with Maximum Oxygen Uptake in Adolescents?. Asian J Sports Med. 2017;8(3):e13812. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.13812

More by these authors

Pantelis Theodoros NikolaidisPubMedScholar
Nikos Vassilios KarydisPubMedScholar

Find related work

PubMed
Google Scholar
Create citation alert
Download PDF200.85 KB
Import into EndNoteImport into BibTex
Share
Cited by
Metrics
Comments
Number of Comments:0