A Body Composition Profile Of Female Division I Intercollegiate Basketball Players

Body composition (BC), specifically functional lean tissue mass (LTM) and fat mass (FM), influence athletic performance. Research shows LTM and FM may impact strength, endurance, anaerobic and aerobic power and sport skills like agility and speed and injury risk. As such, understanding sport-specific BC profiles provide coaches important information for designing effective, sport-specific training programs. Of concern however, female athletes are 1) understudied and 2) at increased risk for sport injuries, especially in sports involving rapid, change-in-direction movement patterns, like basketball. PURPOSE: To describe BC profiles of NCAA Division I collegiate female basketball players. METHODS: Fourteen female basketball players averaging 20.1 ± 1.6 years, 176.8 ± 6.6 cm tall and weighing on average 72.7 ± 11.2 kg participated in this study. BC profiles, specifically appendicular LTM defined as the sum of non-bone LTM of the upper and lower limbs), FM, %FM and bone mineral content and density (BMC, BMD) were estimated via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). All scans were administered in the morning and athletes followed all pre-testing testing guidelines. Descriptive statistics were performed to describe the athletes BC profiles as a group and separately for guard and forward positions. RESULTS: The total group exhibited an average FM of 24.9 ± 6.6 kg, %BF of 33.8 ± 4.7%, LTM of 45.1 ± 5.1 kg, BMC of 20.4 ± 3.2 kg and BMD of 1.26 ± 0.1 g/cm2. Female forwards (n = 5) showed an average FM of 29.0 ± 6.2 kg, %BF of 34.7 ± 4.0%, LTM of 24.9 ± 2.2 kg, BMC of 31.7 ± 1.4 kg, and BMD of 1.3 ± 0.001 g/cm2. Female guards (n = 9) exhibited an average FM of 22.5 ± 2.1 kg, %BF of 33.2 ± 5.2%, LTM of 18.4 ± 1.7 kg, BMC of 25.2 ± 2.1 kg, and BMD of 1.2 ± 0.001 g/cm2. CONCLUSION: BC profiles of female, collegiate basketball players were position-specific, with forwards being taller, heavier, and possessing more FM, BMC, and appendicular LTM. This highlights the importance of designing individualized, position-specific training programs.