Body fat in children and adolescents participating in organized sports: Descriptive epidemiological study of 6048 Latvian athletesShow others and affiliations
2015 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, ISSN 1403-4948, E-ISSN 1651-1905, Vol. 43, no 6, p. 615-622Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Pressure among young athletes to meet body composition goals may lead to poor nutrition and affect growth. Aims: To examine the proportion of body fat (%BF), measured by bioimpedance analysis, among Latvian children and adolescents participating in organized sports. Methods: Our study had a nationally representative sample of 6048 young athletes, aged 10-17 years. Their %BF was measured using a multifrequency, 8-pole, bioelectrical impedance leg-to-hand analyzer. Results: About 19.2% (CI 14.4-20.0) of boys and 15.1% (CI 14.0-16.3) of girls had a %BF value below the recommended levels. The %BF in young female athletes participating in aesthetic sports was lower than among their peers participating in other sports. Young male athletes participating in aesthetic sports had lower %BF levels at 10 and 12 years of age, compared with participants in weight-class sports; and lower levels of %BF from age 10-14 years, compared with participants in non-weight-sensitive sports. Conclusions: Almost every fifth child and adolescent participating in organized sports displayed critically low body fat levels. Body fat needs to be assessed regularly in young athletes, to prevent negative consequences on health.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD , 2015. Vol. 43, no 6, p. 615-622
Keywords [en]
Adolescents; aesthetic sports; body fat; body mass index; children; eating disorders; Latvia; percentage body fat; reference curves; sports; sport types; young athletes
National Category
Basic Medicine Clinical Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-121440DOI: 10.1177/1403494815581696ISI: 000360391600008PubMedID: 25948090OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-121440DiVA, id: diva2:855110
Note
Funding Agencies|State Sports Medicine Centre of the Latvian Ministry of Health
2015-09-182015-09-182018-04-07