CHANGES IN BODY COMPOSITION OF YOUNG BASKETBALL PLAYERS

VARIA

CHANGES IN BODY COMPOSITION OF YOUNG BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Milica Stefanovic, Jelena Oblakovic-Babic, Nenad Radivojevic, Jelena Suzic, Nenad Dikic
Vita Maxima Clinic, Sport Medicine Association of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia

OBJECTIVES. The aims of the study were to present body composition parameters of young male competitive basketball players and to show the differences in respected age groups.
METHODS. A total of 52 male basketball players were divided into three groups according to the age: group under 14 (13.8±0.4), group under 16 (15.5±0.5) and group under 18 (17.3±0.5). Two measurements were performed, the first at the beginning of pre-season (August) and second after eight months (March).
RESULTS. Significant increase in the most of parameters was observed after eight months in all groups (p<0.05) as shown on the table.

	Under 14 n=15	Under 16 n=17	Under 18 n=20
	Pre-season	During season	p	Pre-season	During season	p	Pre-season	During season	p
Height (cm)	177.2±11.0	180.4±11,1	0.000*	186.8±10.2	188.5±9.2	0.000*	196.5±9.1	197.1±9.7	0.008*
Weight (kg)	61.2±14.2	66,2±14,3	0.000*	72.5±14.1	77.7±13.7	0.000*	86.9±14.0	90.3±13.0	0.001*
BMI (kg/m2)	19.3±2.8	20,1±2,5	0.000*	20.6±2.7	21.7±2.6	0.000*	22.4±2.3	23.1±1.9	0.004*
BF (kg)	14.8±3.2	16,1±2,6	0.009*	14.2±3.9	16.3±3.2	0.016*	8.1±4.3	9.5±3.3	0.017*
BF (%)	9.3±3.9	10,9±2,6	0.000*	10.4±4.2	12.9±4.2	0.001*	7.5±5.2	8.7±4.1	0.020*
FFM (kg)	49.9±13.2	57,5±10,7	0.134*	62.1±11.4	64.8±10.4	0.004*	78.5±9.4	81.6±10.3	0.002*

*significant difference (p<0.05), body fat = BF, fat free mass = FFM

CONCLUSIONS. We observed significant changes in body composition parameters of young basketball players in eight months period. Comparison between age groups showed that BF % was lower in group under 18 vs. group under 14 and 16, while FFM is highest in group under 18, as a result of growth maturation and intensive training process.
Key words: body composition, BIA, young basketball players, adolescence, body fat.