Investigating body dimension and composition across diverse populations with traditional and advanced techniques.

Over the course of my doctoral research project entitled “Investigating body dimension and composition across diverse populations with traditional and advanced techniques”, seven studies were conducted: “Effect of distinct impact loading sports on body composition in pre-menarcheal girls”, “Seasonal DXA-measured body composition changes in professional male soccer player”, “Bone quality predicts ball-throwing velocity in team handball”, “Body composition assessment in spinal cord injured wheelchair athletes”, “Kinematic analysis of the wheelchair tennis serve: Implications for Classification”, “Anthropometry, body composition and performance in young wheelchair basketball players”, and “Digital three-dimensional anthropometry detection of exercise-induced fat mass reduction in obese women”. Four of the above studies are published or in press in international Journals. In the above-mentioned studies, body dimensions and composition were investigated across diverse populations (e.g., pre-menarcheal gymnasts and volleyball players, elite male soccer players, sub-elite and elite handball players and wheelchair athletes) with traditional and advanced techniques. In particular, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as well as manual and digital anthropometry were exploited. The combined application of traditional and advanced imaging techniques allowed me to study the anthropometry and body composition characteristics of participants in different sport activities to monitor the effects of sport training across a competitive season, analyse the relationship between anthropometry and body composition characteristics and specific technical skills, as well as provide useful information to improve the classification system of athletes playing Paralympic sports. In summary, the obtained results showed that 1. Higher muscle mass is a key factor for bone mineral accrual in pre-menarcheal girls exposed to impact-loading activity. 2. Professional soccer players undergo changes (especially in the lower limbs) in their fat mass, fat-free soft tissue mass, and bone mineral content across the season with some regional variations, irrespective of the playing position. 3. In male and female handball players, bone mineral content and/or bone mineral density is a body composition parameter able to explain a significant proportion of variability in ball throwing velocity. 4. In adapted physical activity the duration of injury strongly affect body composition of wheelchair athletes (wheelchair basketball players, wheelchair rugby players and handbikers). 5. In disabled people, it would be important to begin physical activity as soon as possible after injury in an attempt to slow or reduce the negative effects of the impairment on the body composition. 6. Comparison of current skinfold thickness predictive equation and DXA in wheelchair athletes shows a substantial underestimation of percentage of fat mass with the former, highlighting the need to use an ad hoc skinfold thickness equation for this population. 7. In young wheelchair basketball players several anthropometric variables are well correlated to wheelchair basketball performance (sport-specific field test and game-related statistics). 8. A clear relationship between the player’s impairment and performance in wheelchair tennis and in wheelchair basketball is present, suggesting that the current classification systems are to be challenged as to fairness.