Associations between handgrip strength, fatigue resistance, anthropometric measures and bioelectrical impedance analysis–derived body composition in healthy young adults

Handgrip strength (HGS) is a simple indicator of muscle function, but its associations with fatigue resistance, upper-limb anthropometry, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)–derived body composition are not fully established in healthy young adults. This cross-sectional exploratory study aimed to examine these associations while considering sex and hand dominance. Forty healthy young adults underwent whole-body and segmental BIA using the InBody 970. Upper-limb anthropometry was measured with a flexible tape, and HGS and fatigue resistance at 75%, 50%, and 25% of maximum force were recorded for the dominant and nondominant hands using a grip-force transducer and LabChart software. Independent-samples t tests, two-way mixed analyses of variance, and Pearson correlation analyses with Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate correction were used. HGS and several lean- and hydration-related BIA measures were higher in male than female participants. HGS showed strong positive correlations with total body water, protein, soft lean mass, fat-free mass, and skeletal muscle mass across both hands ( r = 0.725–0.830), whereas percent body fat was inversely associated with HGS. Upper-limb anthropometry showed mainly low-to-moderate associations with HGS. Fatigue-resistance measures showed limited and inconsistent associations with anthropometric and BIA-derived variables. The mixed analysis of variance identified a sex effect for HGS and a hand effect for FR50, with no significant hand-by-sex interactions. HGS and BIA-derived body-composition measures may provide complementary information about muscle function in healthy young adults. Because of the modest sample size, single fatigue trial, and multiple exploratory analyses, these findings require confirmation in larger, adequately powered studies.