Body composition and grip strength constraints in elite male rink-hockey players of contrasting ethnicity

article

Ferraz, António
Valente-Dos-Santos, João
Duarte-Mendes, Pedro
Nunes, Célia
Victorino, Samuel
Coelho-e-Silva, Manuel J.
Travassos, Bruno

Ferraz A, Valente-Dos-Santos J, Duarte- Mendes P, Nunes C, Victorino S, Coelho-e-Silva MJ, et al. (2022) Body composition and grip strength constraints in elite male rink-hockey players of contrasting ethnicity. PLoS ONE 17(9): e0274894. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0274894

10.1371/journal.pone.0274894

Body composition and grip strength constraints in elite male rink-hockey players of contrasting ethnicity

Body composition
Grip strength
Rink-hockey

This work was supported by the National Funding through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, IP, under the grant UI/ BD/151484/2021 and the project UID/04045/2020. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

2022-11-04T16:41:14Z
2022-11-04T16:41:14Z
2022

Rink hockey is a highly specialized and physiological demanding sport with sparse research regarding the game and athletes’ characteristics. A cross-sectional study was developed to characterize the body composition and grip strength of elite male rink hockey players and to establish the relationship between ethnicity on body composition and grip strength. A sample of 100 elite rink-hockey athletes aged 26.59 ± 6.02 participated in the study, comprised of 69 Caucasian male adults aged 27.58 ± 6.44 years and 31 Black African male adults aged 24.39 ± 4.27. Body composition was assessed by anthropometric measurements. Static grip strength was assessed with an adjustable dynamometer. Multiple regression analysis was applied to understand which variables constraints body fat percentage (BF) and grip strength. Body mass showed an average of 76.36 ± 9.18 kg for 175.80 ± 5.87 cm of height and BF% of 10.82 ± 5.07%. Maximal right grip strength was 50.91 ± 6.26 kg and 50.27 ± 6.23 kg for left grip strength. Four predictors accounted for 70.01% of the variance of BF%: abdominal circumference (p < 0.001), right thigh circumference (p < 0.001), right calf circumference (p = 0.001) and ethnicity (p = 0.016). Three predictors accounted for 13.1% of the variance of right grip strength: ethnicity (p = 0.013), chronological age (p = 0.024) and right distal thigh circumference (p = 0.014). Results suggest that elite rink hockey athletes have a specific anthropometric identity, which at the elite level may lead to reduced body fat and greater handgrip strength. Ethnicity seems to predict body fat and grip strength in elite rink hockey athletes.
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eng