Anthropometric Characteristics Of Volleyball And Waterpolo Players

Introduction
Minimizing body fat levels and increasing muscle mass contributes to maximal athletic performance, while most of the sports require respective appropriate characteristics (1,2). The purpose of this study was to compare the age and the anthropometric characteristics of male athletes of two different team sports (of which one is played in the court and the other in the water).

Methods
25 male athletes (13 waterpolo and 12 volleyball players), which participated in the Greek National Championship, consisted our sample. The subjects were submitted to antropometric measurements. Body fat was estimated using using skinfold thickness (3,4). For statistical analysis the SPSS computer program was used. Statistical significance was set at p<.05.
Results
Means and standard deviations of the age and the anthropometric characteristics of the athletes are set forth in table 1.
(Anexo)

Discussion/Conclusions
Volleyball athletes had significantly higher wrist circumference and body height in relation to water polo athletes (p<.05). This finding can be attributed to the fact that volleyball elite athletes prerequisite to have high height and great strength in wrist and fingers, due to the nature and the type of the sport (5). The higher wrist circumference might be caused by injuries and over training load that can provoke bones cartilages deformities specifically during adolescence (6). There is an apparent effect of the type of the sport on the anthropometric characteristics of the team sport athletes, which should be taken into account while selecting young athletes.

References
[1]. Bangsbo J. (2000). Team Sports. In Maughan R. (Ed), Nutrition in Sport (pp. 574-587). Oxford: Blackwell Science.
[2]. Martorell R. et al. (1988). Human Biology, 60, (2), 205-222.
[3]. Jackson A.S., Pollock M.L. (1978). British Journal of Nutrition, 40, 487-504.
[4]. Siri, W.E. (1961). Body composition from fluid spaces and density: Analysis of methods. In J. Brozek & Heschel (Eds.), Techniques for measuring body composition, (pp.223-244). Washigton, DC: National Academy of Sciences.
[5]. Papadopoulou S.D. (2001). Anthropometric characteristis of Greek top volleyball players. The effect of demographic and socioeconomic factors on the differentiation between competition levels. PhD Dissertation. Department of Sport Medicine. Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
[6]. Kollias Η. (1997). Biokinetic of athletic movement. Publ. Salto, Thessaloniki: Salto Publ.

NOTA: O texto com a iconografia está no anexo.

Arquivo