An anthropometric study was made to estimate muscle mass in athletes (from 1.500 m to 10.000 m). Of the different techniques available, kinanthropometry is the most widely used because it is constantly being validated. Nevertheless, great care should be taken to select a formula appropriate to the athletes being measured and the sports involved. The four-compartment approach was analyzed to ascertain which method provides the closest approximation to real weight, since not all four-compartment methods are statistically validated; the "tactical" method of De Rose and Guimaraes (1984), for example, obtains muscle mass by subtracting the other three compartments from total weight. This method matches 100% the athlete`s real weight, but the muscle-mass estimate inevitably builds in errors in calculation of the other three compartments. Sixty-two male athletes (mean age 23.6 years) of medium and top level were studied following ISAK protocols, using formulae whose results were then statistically analyzed. Analysis was performed using the DBaseIII database and the SPSS-PC+ statistical software package. Muscle mass as obtained using the formula advanced by Martin et al. (1990) was 58.91%, a figure similar to that reported in 10 athletes (58.6%) by Spen et al. (1993) and in 25 long-distance athletes (57.56%) examined by Canda (1996). The Drinkwater formula (1977) yielded a mean muscle mass of 47.39% compared to Canda`s 46.41%. Kerrr`s formula (1988) gave a figure of 48.23%, similar to that reported by Berral et al. (1992) in long-distance athletes (48.72%). In the four-compartment analysis, Würch`s formula (1974) was used for residual mass, and Rocha`s modification of Van Döbeln`s formula (1974) for bone mass. Muscle percentage was calculated using the Kerr and Drinkwater formulae, but not the Martin formula. Fat mass was calculated using the formulae put forward by Faulkner (1968): Brozeck & Keys (1951) and Siri (1956). From statistical analysis of all possible combinations, it appeared that the method best suited to the athletes under study was a combination of the Drinkwater and Faulkner formulae, which yielded: mean, 99.239; standard deviation, 2.203; range, 10.01; maximum 104.8; minimum, 94.79.
© Copyright 1999 Alle Rechte vorbehalten.