Reference values of the body composition of young chilean soccer players

Objective: To analyze whether fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) should be evaluated by chronological age and/or biological age and propose curves to classify the body composition of young Chilean soccer players. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was developed. Six hundred and forty-two soccer players between 13.0 and 18.9 years of age were recruited. Body mass, height, trunk-cephalic height, and tricipital and subscapular skinfolds were evaluated. Biological maturation was determined using peak height velocity age (PHV) and the percentage of fat mass was estimated by regression equations. The reference percentiles were calculated using the LMS method. Results: The values of R² were lower for chronological age (FM = 0.07% and FFM = 0.13%) than for biological age (FM = 0.31% and FFM = 0.50%). Eleven percentiles (p3, p5, p10, p15, p25, p50, p75, p85, p90, p95 and p97) were calculated for FFM and FM. Conclusion: Biological age (PHV) is a better predictor of FFM and FM than chronological age. The references proposed can be used to monitor the body composition of young Chilean soccer players. Level of Evidence II; Diagnostic Study.