Body Composition and Segmental Phase Angle in Physically Active

Men

M. Marra

, R. Sammarco

, E. Speranza

, O. Di Vincenzo

, D. Morlino

, I. Cioffi, L. Scalfi

and F. Pasanisi

Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University of Naples, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

Department of Public Health, Federico II University of Naples, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

Keywords: Body Composition, BIA, Phase Angle, Athletes, Dancers, Cyclists.

Abstract: Body composition (BC) is strongly related to the overall health and ﬁtness levels of athletes. The aim of this

study was to evaluate BC and in particular phase angle for whole body and for the different body segments in

males elite athletes compared with a normal-weight control group. 27 young men participated in the study: 9

ciclysts (age 28.8±3.5 years; weight 70.2±5.6kg; BMI 21.2±1.2 kg / m

), 9 dancers (age 19.2±1.3 years;

weight 63.3±5.8 kg; BMI 20.8±1.0kg /m

) and 9 young normal-weight men (age 18.9±2.8years, weight

70.7±11.6 kg, BMI 22.9±3.3 kg / m

)

Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) was performed at 50 kHz (DS Medica)

early in the morning. Phase angle (a bioimpedance variable related to nutritional status) was used in order to

evaluate differences in fat free mass (FFM) characteristics among the groups. As far as BC, cyclists showed

the highest values of FFM whereas dancers and controls were similar. Fat mass (FM), both in absolute value

and in percentage, is significantly lower in dancers and cyclists than controls. Total phase angle and leg phase

angle were similar in Cyclist, dancers and controls. Regarding arm phase angle, there were no significantly

differences between groups. This study shows that the sports activity, regardless of the type of sport, had a

significant effect on BC variables respect non-athletic young men.

1 INTRODUCTION

Body composition (BC) has been shown to strongly

relate to the overall health and ﬁtness levels of

athletes (Esco et al 2008, Esco et al 2010) Generally,

high ratios of fat-free mass (FFM) to fat mass (FM)

and low body fat percentages (BF%) are

advantageous. The presence of insufficient or excess

body fat can result in performance reduction and

possible deleterious effects on health.

Therefore, the accurate knowledge of body

composition in athletes is strongly important.

The gold standard methods for body composition

(Fields DA et al 2010) are not reproducible in

individuals practicing sports because are invasive

methods (hydrometry), not always applicable

(densitometry) and they don’t allow monitoring

athletes because, being a radiological procedure, it

should be performed not more than 2 times per year

(DXA) (Fields DA et al 2012)

So, more user-friendly and simple techniques,

such as skinfold thickness and Bioelectrical

Impedance Analysis (BIA), are preferred.

Measurement of skinfold thickness (biceps,

triceps, subscapular and iliac), performed by trained

operators, could be appropriate to estimate body fat

and its distribution in populations but not adequate for

monitoring small changes in body composition at

individual level. The accuracy of this method is

related to the skill of the operators (Mei Z. et al 2007,

Siri WE et al 1961).

BIA is a noninvasive, low cost, reliable and

broadly applied method for body composition

assessment in clinical and non-clinical settings.

Several predictive equations have been developed

to estimate TBW and FFM by using Bioimpedance

Index (H

/R, cm

/Ω).In addition to BIA data, these

formulae include several parameters such as sex, age,

body weight. Predictive equations are generally

population-specific and can be useful only for

individuals with characteristics of the reference

population groups with a physiological hydration

status (Kyle UG et al 2004).

154

Marra, M., Sammarco, R., Speranza, E., Vincenzo, O., Morlino, D., Ciofﬁ, I., Scalﬁ, L. and Pasanisi, F.

Body Composition and Segmental Phase Angle in Physically Active Men.

DOI: 10.5220/0007232101540157

In Proceedings of the 6th Inter national Congress on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support (icSPORTS 2018), pages 154-157

ISBN: 978-989-758-325-4

In particular, the use of BIA in athletes is less

validated than other settings; also, BIA cannot be a

reliable tool for evaluating FFM in athletes because

hydration is not always normal (Matias CN et al 2012,

Matias CN et al 2013).

Phase angle (PhA), which is a raw BIA variable,

has been widely used as an objective indicator of

cellular health, with higher values reflecting better

cellularity, cell membrane integrity, and cell function

(De Lorenzo et al 1985, Norman K. et al 2012). PhA

has been suggested as a valuable proxy of body

function (Beberashvili I et al 2014), nutritional status

(Marra M et al 2005, Zhang G. et al 2014), disease

prognosis (Stobaus et al 2012), and mortality risk

(Norman K. et al 2014, Santarpia L. et al 2009).

In the literature, a few studies have so far

evaluated PhA in elite as well as amateur athletes.

Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate

body composition and in particular phase angle for

the whole body and for the different body segments

in males elite athletes of different sports compared

with a normal-weight control group.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

27 young men, evaluated at the Clinical Nutritional

Unit of the Department of Clinical Medicine and

Surgery, Federico II University Hospital, Naples,

participated in the study and were divided into three

groups,: 9 cyclists (age 28.8±3.5 years; weight

70.2±5.6kg; BMI 21.2±1.2 kg / m

), 9 dancers (age

19.2±1.3 years; weight 63.3±5.8 kg; BMI 20.8±1.0kg

), 9 young normal-weight men as control group

(age 18.9±2.8years, weight 70.7±11.6 kg, BMI

22.9±3.3 kg / m

The data of a team of nine professional cyclists of

the Pro Cycling Team Liquigas Cannondale were

collected during the Giro D'Italia 2012, a three-week

stage race.

The nine dancers attended dance school of the

Teatro San Carlo in Naples. They train from Monday

to Saturday for about 4 hours a day. The control group

was selected among University students.

The same operator following standard procedures

at the University “Federico II” of Naples performed

all measurements.

Weight and height were measured with an

approximation of 0.1 kg and 0.5 cm respectively. The

BMI was calculated as weight (kg) / height² (m²).

Body composition was estimated by skinfold

thickness (biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac

sites) (Durnin JV. Et al 1974), measured on the left

side of the body, in triplicate to the nearest 0.2 mm,

using an appropriately calibrated HARPENDEN

caliber.

PhA was measured with BIA (Human IM plus II-

DS MEDICA) at 50 kHz in the post-absorptive state,

at an ambient temperature of 22-24° C, after voiding

and after being in the supine position for 10 min.

For the segmental BIA exam, the length of each

segment was measured and the electrodes were

properly positioned to obtain resistance and reactance

values for each segment: arm and

leg. This evaluation was conducted according to

the Organ method (Organ LW et al 1974).

The Medical Ethics Committee of the Federico II

University approved the study and .all subjects give

informant consent for routine diagnostic evaluation.

3 RESULTS

Anthropometric measurements of four groups are

summarized in Table 1. Age and height were

significantly different in cyclists versus other groups;

the lowest was observed in dancers (63.3±5.8 kg),

while BMI was similar between groups.

Table 1. Antropometric measurements for three sub-groups

of 27 young men.

Cyclists

(n.9)

Dancers

(n.9)

CTR

(n.9)

Age

28.8±3.5*

19.2±1.3

18.9±2.8

Weight

70.2±5.6

63.3±5.8

70.7±11.6

Height

182±5°°

174±5

175±7

BMI

kg/m

21.2±1.2

20.8±1.0

22.9±3.3

* p< 0.05 vs all; °p<0.05 vs Dancers and CTR; °°p<0.05 vs

Dancers;

In Table 2 are described the results of skinfold

thickness measurements of athletes: except for biceps

skinfold (significantly lower in dancers 2.72±0.12

mm), all skinfold values were significantly different

in water polo and controls versus cyclists and dancers.

Table 2: skinfold thickness measurements of 27 young men.

CYCLISTS

(n.9)

DANCERS

(n.9)

CTR

(n.9)

Biceps

3.89±0.54

2.72±0.12**

4.72±1.37

Triceps

6.47±1.31

5.67±0.64

10.6±3.88*

Subscapular

7.38±1.36

6.80±0.67

11.2±4.02*

Iliac

6.82±2.59

5.98±0.75

12.9±5.34*

SUM

24.5±4.74

21.2±1.22

39.4±13.3*

*p < 0.05 vs cyclists and dancers;** p< 0.05 vs all;

Body Composition and Segmental Phase Angle in Physically Active Men

155

As far as body composition (Table 3), cyclists

showed the highest values of FFM (62.1±5.5 kg) with

no difference between dancers and controls (57.7±5.1

vs 58.0±8.3 kg). FM, both in absolute value and as

percentage body weight, was significantly lowest in

dancers (5.7±0.8 kg; 8.9±0.7 %) vs 15.1±3.6 kg);

significant differences were observed between

cyclists and controls.

Table 3: Body composition by skinfold thickness in

different athletes.

CYCLISTS

(n.9)

DANCERS

(n.9)

CTR

(n.9)

FFM

62.1±5.5

57.7±5.1

58.0±8.3

FAT

8.0±1.7**

5.7±0.8**

12.7±4.5

FAT

11.5±2.4**

8.9±0.7**

17.6±4.5

* p< 0.05 vs ALL; **p<0.05 vs CTR;

In the Table 4 shows the mean values of PhA in

the three groups.

Whole-body was significantly higher vs control

group (6.91±0.68 degrees) and similar between

cyclists (7.70±0.54 degrees) and dancers (7.74±0.57

degrees). The highest upper-limb PhA was observed

in dancers with non-significantly differences between

cyclists and controls. Regarding lower-limb PhA,

there were no significant differences between athletes

whereas it was clearly lower in the control group.

Table 4: Segmental Phase angle in different athletes.

CYCLISTS

(n.9)

DANCERS

(n.9)

CTR

(n.9)

PhA

Total

7.70±0.54§

7.74±0.57§

6.91±0.68

Arms

5.89±0.53

6.29±0.64

5.74±1.03

Legs

9.28±0.52*

9.38±0.52*

8.13±0.32

* p< 0.05 vs CTR; § p< 0.05 vs CTR

4 DISCUSSION

This study shows that intense physical activity (sports

and dancing) has a significant effect on body

composition.

Dancers showed lower values of FM than cyclists

and control group; the intense training in classical

ballet dancers also markedly affects body

composition. (Ferrari EP et al 2013)

Despite the elite status of all the examined

athletes, significant differences in the selected BC

variables were observed between sport groups.

Nowadays, many authors have studied body

composition variables in elite athletes. Specifically,

both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies showed

a strong correlation between phase angle and sport

activities. Several cross-sectional studies also have

demonstrated that PhA was higher in athletes of

different sports than in controls both in males and in

females (Marra M. et al 2016, Meleleo D. 2017).

Marra M (Marra M. et al 2016) studied the body

composition changes in cyclists during the Giro

d’Italia 2012 and 2014 and found that total PhA was

significantly reduced at the end of the competition. It

is interesting that the segmental BIA measurements

showed that upper-limb PhA did not significantly

change during the competition whereas a significative

reduction was reported for leg PhA. The present study

shows that BIA is a useful method for both

monitoring body composition and evaluating the

quality of FFM, through the measurements of PhA.

Segmental BIA analysis in different sports is might

particularly be useful because gives more detailed

information on different muscle groups. Interesting

results emerged from segmental BIA exam because

segmental PhA seems to differentiate between

different type of sport, being an effective marker of

qualitative changes in the different segment of body

composition. Whole-body PhA was similar in cyclists

and dancers. Regarding segmental PhA, it seems to

change depending upon the muscle groups mainly

involved in physical activity. Upper-limb PhA was

higher in dancers than in cyclists whereas lower-limb

PhA was higher in both dancers and cyclists than in

control group.

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