Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Italian national wrestlers

This article was downloaded by: [Luciana Zaccagni] On: 20 July 2011, At: 22:42 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK European Journal of Sport Science Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tejs20 Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Italian national wrestlers Luciana Zaccagni a a Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy Available online: 13 Jul 2011 To cite this article: Luciana Zaccagni (2011): Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Italian national wrestlers, European Journal of Sport Science, DOI:10.1080/17461391.2010.545838 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2010.545838 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

European Journal of Sport Science 2011, 17, ifirst article ORIGINAL ARTICLE Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Italian national wrestlers LUCIANA ZACCAGNI Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the anthropometric characteristics and body composition of wrestlers from the Italian national team. The study was carried out on a sample of 23 wrestlers (9 females and 14 males) aged 1833 years. Various anthropometric measurements were performed (weight, height, sitting height, some girths and skinfold thicknesses) and anthropometric indices calculated (body mass index, cormic index, upper arm muscle area, upper arm fat area, and arm fat index). Body composition was assessed and minimum wrestling weight was determined based on a minimum body fat percentage of 5% for males and 12% for females. We undertook comparisons by sex, wrestling style (for males), and weight category. The comparison between men s and women s wrestling corroborated known differences between the sexes; the comparison between wrestling styles stressed the relevance of the cormic index. The most interesting finding of this study was that no female wrestler competed in a lower weight class than her minimum wrestling weight, even if all of them were heavier than values allowed for their weight class. Five of 14 male wrestlers competed in a weight class lower than their minimum wrestling weight, and all of them, except two, were heavier than the uppermost limit of their weight class. Keywords: Wrestling, body fat, elite athletes, weight classification Introduction Wrestling is widely recognized as the world s oldest competitive sport and it has featured in every Olympic Games since its ancient conception. There are two different forms of men s wrestling at the modern Olympics: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Greco-Roman wrestlers must not use the legs to trip or lift an opponent, or attack an opponent s legs, while in freestyle competition wrestlers can use their legs and may hold opponents above or below the waist (McGuigan et al., 2006). Women s wrestling, which is governed by the same rules as men s wrestling, but with different weight classes, has only recently been accepted as an Olympic discipline. Indeed, it featured for the first time in the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens. All sports practised at a high professional competitive standard require the body to perform at optimum capacity in terms of biomechanics and physiology. It is thus logical to expect top athletes to have a physique suited to the functional requirements of the sport in question. As far as wrestling is concerned, a short-limbed physique is generally considered best suited to the biomechanical characteristics of the sport, thus favouring the selection of athletes with a limited vertical skeletal development (Norton et al., 2004). Moreover, in sports where competitors are matched by body weight, for example wrestling, the majority of athletes need to pay close attention to their body mass to meet the predetermined weight limit in their category. These limits were introduced to create fairness, but unfortunately wrestlers and coaches did not follow the rules, which resulted in unhealthy weight management practices. Many studies have shown excessive and fluctuating weight loss in a significant number of wrestlers (Oppliger et al., 2003; Ransone & Hughes, 2004; Roemmich & Sinning, 1997; Utter, 2001). For more than half a century, rapid weight reduction, known as weight cutting, has been practised by wrestlers who need to make weight Correspondence: L. Zaccagni, Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d Este 32, 44100 Ferrara, Italy. E-mail: luciana.zaccagni@unife.it ISSN 1746-1391 print/issn 1536-7290 online # 2011 European College of Sport Science DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2010.545838

Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 2 L. Zaccagni (i.e. achieve the lowest possible body mass necessary to gain an advantage over one s opponent). Ideally, wrestlers would like to maximize lean body mass and minimize body fat and total body weight without losing their strength and power (Yoon, 2002). Strength is essential in modern wrestling, which falls into the category of sports defined as strengthdependent by Wrigley (2000). Indeed, a wrestling match requires muscle power and strength as well as anaerobic power and capacity, due to the need for performance of short duration but high intensity. We assessed elite wrestlers with the following aims: (1) to describe the physical characteristics of male and female wrestlers, and (2) to relate these characteristics to the discipline practised (male wrestlers only) and the weight class of the athletes. Methods Twenty-three wrestlers (14 males and 9 females) aged 1833 years (mean9s: females 22.495.0 years, males 22.394.2 years) volunteered to participate in the study. The volunteers can be considered elite athletes since they had all been awarded national and/or international titles, and were all members of the Italian national teams (20042005 season). The research was approved by FIJLKAM (Federazione Italiana Judo Lotta Karate Arti Marziali). Each participant was familiarized with the experimental procedure, and all provided informed consent to participate in the study. They were subsequently subjected to a structured interview to assess current age, age of participation in their sport, and the amount of training they undertook each week. All measurements were taken during the competitive season at the Centro Olimpico Federale in Ostia (Rome, Italy) on 11 February 2005 at a national training workshop. All athletes were in training at the time of the study and adhered to a weekly regime of 68 training sessions of 1.52.0 h. Tables I and II show the composition of the women s and men s subgroups respectively, categorized by FILA (International Federation of Associated wrestling styles) weight class and, in the case of the men, also by wrestling style. The same trained technician made all anthropometric measurements with the participants in a resting state, according to established procedures (Lohman, 1981; Lohman et al., 1988). Standing height and sitting height were recorded to the nearest 0.1 cm by an anthropometer. Weight was measured using a calibrated electronic scale, and body mass index was calculated as weight/height 2, where weight was expressed in kilograms and height in metres. The cormic index was calculated as (sitting height/ standing height) 100. Table I. Female wrestlers by FILA weight class Weight class 51 1 55 2 59 3 63 2 67 1 Skinfold thickness was measured to the nearest 0.5 mm with a calibrated Lange caliper (Beta Technology, Inc., Cambridge, MD) on the participant s left side. The sites measured were: biceps, triceps, chest, subscapular, mid-axilla, suprailiac, abdominal, and thigh. Girths were measured with a standard tape at five sites: the neck, the natural waist (the narrowest part of the abdomen between ribs and iliac crest), the hip (maximum posterior extension of buttocks), and the right and left upper arms. Left upper arm girth (C) and triceps skinfold thickness (TS) were used to estimate the upper arm muscular area (UMA, cm 2 ), upper arm fat area (UFA, cm 2 ), and arm fat index (AFI,%), according to Frisancho (2008): upper arm muscle area ðumaþ ¼½C ðtspþš 2 =4p upper arm fat area ðufaþ ¼ C 2 =4p UMA arm fat index ðafiþ ¼½UFA= C 2 =4p Š100 Body composition was assessed by skinfold analysis, as suggested by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Diboll & Moffit, 2003). For male participants, the average values for the three sites (triceps, subscapular, and abdominal) were summed and entered into Lohman s equation (Lohman, 1981) to determine body density. For female wrestlers, the average values for the four sites (triceps, abdominal, suprailiac, and thigh) were summed and entered into the equation proposed by Jackson et al. (1980). Body density was then converted to percent body fat using Siri s formula (Siri, 1961). Subsequently, the fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) of each participant were calculated using the previously determined body weight (Wagner, 1996). The fat-free mass data were then used to establish a minimum wrestling weight. Lohman (1992) cited Table II. Male wrestlers by FILA weight class and style of wrestling Weight class Freestyle (n) Greco-Roman (n) 55 1 60 1 3 66 2 1 74 3 84 1 96 1 1 n

Characteristics of Italian national wrestlers 3 Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 5% as the minimum amount of body fat that an adult male wrestler should maintain, while female wrestlers need a minimum body fat of 12%. Thus minimum wrestling weight (MWW) was calculated as follows: males : MWW ¼ FFM=0:95 females : MWW ¼ FFM=0:88 Data are expressed as means and standard deviations. Differences between groups (gender and wrestling style for men) were tested using the Kruskal-Wallis test. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The statistics package Statistica for Windows 7.1 was used for all statistical analyses. Results Table III illustrates the physical characteristics of the male and female wrestlers. The mean age and age range were similar for male and female wrestlers, but male wrestlers had more competitive experience than their female counterparts. In fact, the males had begun wrestling on average at 8.692.4 years of age, giving a total of 13.794.1 years of experience; while the females had been practising the sport for an Table III. Physical and body composition characteristics of male and female wrestlers Females (n9) average of 7.095.4 years, having begun aged 15.192.4 years, presumably influenced by the relatively recent introduction of female competitive wrestling to Italy (the first Italian Women s Championship was in 1996). Statistical differences (P B0.05) were observed between the sexes for all of the examined traits, except for body mass index, cormic index, and skinfold thickness at chest and hip girth. As expected, the male wrestlers were on average taller (11 cm) and heavier (13 kg), with smaller skinfolds and larger girths (except hips) than their female counterparts. The mean differences between left and right arm girths were negligible for both sexes (1 mm in females and 3 mm in males). The mean body mass index was higher in males than in females, and in both sexes mean values denoted a normal nutritional status. The cormic index was higher in females than in males, and both mean values belonged to a metriocormic category. However, analysis of the data of each participant revealed that two of nine female and six of 14 male wrestlers were macrocormic. In both sexes, the thickest skinfold was located at the thigh (the mean value in females was 12.6 mm higher than in males), and the thinnest at the biceps site. The distribution of subcutaneous fat was more Males (n14) Variables Mean s range mean s range Age (years) 22.4 5.0 1833 22.3 4.2 1831 Weight 60.1 5.3 50.869.8 73.1 13.0 56.399.5 Height (cm) 161.1 6.1 154.4171.0 172.2 7.4 160.2187.1 Sitting height (cm) 85.4 2.9 81.589.1 89.9 2.7 86.094.4 BMI (kg m 2 ) 23.2 1.8 21.326.3 24.5 2.8 20.831.1 Cormic index 53.0 0.8 51.854.2 52.2 1.2 50.553.9 Chest skinfold (mm) 5.3 1.8 3.38.5 5.3 1.9 3.510.5 Abdominal skinfold (mm) 13.2 4.7 5.021.0 9.4 3.5 5.017.5 Thigh skinfold (mm) 23.4 5.1 15.530.0 10.8 3.1 5.516.5 Triceps skinfold (mm) 15.9 4.5 8.522.5 8.6 2.6 5.014.0 Suprailiac skinfold (mm) 10.8 4.1 5.018.0 6.9 2.4 5.014.0 Subscapular skinfold (mm) 11.4 1.7 8.513.5 9.1 3.4 6.018.0 Mid-axilla skinfold (mm) 8.6 2.0 6.013.0 6.9 2.1 4.011.5 Biceps skinfold (mm) 4.3 1.5 2.57.0 3.2 0.9 2.55.5 Sum of skinfolds (mm) 93.0 23.5 55.8129.5 60.1 18.0 38.5107.0 Density (g cm 3 ) 1.055 0.010 1.0411.072 1.076 0.007 1.0591.083 Body fat (%) 19.2 4.4 11.725.7 10.1 2.9 7.117.4 Fat mass 11.7 3.3 6.016.4 7.7 3.6 4.017.3 Fat-free mass 48.5 3.2 44.154.7 65.5 9.9 52.386.1 Neck girth (cm) 33.6 1.9 29.336.0 40.2 2.0 37.344.8 Waist girth (cm) 72.0 3.9 66.580.5 78.6 6.5 68.593.0 Hip girth (cm) 93.0 4.2 84.297.3 92.1 5.8 80.6103.0 Right arm girth (cm) 29.2 1.5 26.832.2 32.1 3.0 27.038.0 Left arm girth (cm) 29.1 1.8 26.832.2 31.8 2.8 28.037.0 UMA (cm 2 ) 46.2 4.3 41.755.5 67.7 11.2 51.191.3 UFA (cm 2 ) 21.3 6.6 10.831.1 13.2 4.6 6.923.4 AFI (%) 31.1 6.8 18.940.2 16.1 4.0 10.323.2 Note: UMAupper arm muscular area; UFAupper arm fat area; AFIarm fat index.

4 L. Zaccagni Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 homogeneous in males than in females, as attested by the smaller difference between the thickest and thinnest skinfolds (7.6 mm in males and 19.1 mm in females) and by the lower standard deviations for skinfolds and body composition parameters (density, percent body fat, upper arm fat area, and arm fat index). Mean values of body density and fat-free mass were higher in the males than in the females, whereas percent body fat, fat mass, and arm fat index were higher in the females than in the males, reflecting the expected differences between the sexes. Percent body fat and arm fat index were almost twice as high in females than in males, and in both sexes the arm fat index was about 1.6 times percent body fat. Mean percent body fat was 19.2% in female wrestlers, only one of whom (the lightest) had a percent body fat less than 12%, the minimum recommended for women. Mean percent body fat was 10.1% in the male wrestlers, all of whom had a percent body fat higher than 5%, the minimum suggested for men. Table IV compares the physical characteristics of the male participants by wrestling style: freestyle (n 9) and Greco-Roman (n5). The freestyle wrestlers were on average heavier and taller, with a lower body mass index and cormic index, thinner Table IV. Physical and body composition characteristics for male wrestlers by wrestling style Variables Freestyle wrestlers (n9) skinfolds (especially abdominal: roughly 3 mm), larger girths (except the waist) and higher mean density, fat-free mass and upper arm muscle area than the Greco-Roman wrestlers. Percent body fat, fat mass, upper arm fat area, and arm fat index were all lower in freestyle than in Greco-Roman wrestlers. The only significant physical difference between the two subgroups of male wrestlers was in the cormic index. These data, combined with the identical average sitting height values for the two groups, revealed a higher number of wrestlers with proportionally longer lower limbs with respect to the trunk in the freestyle category. The mean cormic index value was 51.7 for freestyle wrestlers (metriocormic category) and 53.4 for Greco-Roman wrestlers (macrocormic category). In fact, analysis of the data of each participant revealed that only two of the nine freestyle wrestlers were macrocormic, and four of the five Greco-Roman wrestlers were macrocormic. Freestyle wrestlers had on average a larger arm girth (approximately 2 cm) and thinner triceps skinfold (1.6 mm), giving them a higher upper arm muscle area (about 10 cm 2 ) and lower upper arm fat area (roughly 2 cm 2 ) and arm fat index (25%) than Greco-Roman wrestlers. Greco-Roman wrestlers ( n5) mean s range mean s range Age (years) 22.9 4.9 1831 21.2 2.6 1825 Weight 73.9 12.3 56.399.5 71.8 15.6 62.099.5 Height (cm) 173.9 7.4 164.7187.1 169.1 7.0 160.2179.0 Sitting height (cm) 89.9 2.9 86.094.4 89.8 3.0 86.393.6 BMI (kg m 2 ) 24.3 2.4 20.829.6 24.9 3.6 22.331.1 Cormic index 51.7* 1.1 50.553.7 53.4 0.7 52.353.9 Chest skinfold (mm) 4.7 1.2 3.56.5 6.2 2.7 4.010.5 Abdominal skinfold (mm) 8.3 2.4 5.012.5 11.3 4.6 6.017.5 Thigh skinfold (mm) 10.8 3.3 5.516.5 10.8 3.1 8.516.0 Triceps skinfold (mm) 8.0 2.2 5.012.0 9.6 3.1 6.514.0 Suprailiac skinfold (mm) 6.3 1.3 5.08.5 7.9 3.6 5.514.0 Subscapular skinfold (mm) 8.5 2.7 6.015.0 10.3 4.6 7.018.0 Mid-axilla skinfold (mm) 6.5 1.8 4.09.5 7.6 2.7 4.511.5 Biceps skinfold (mm) 2.9 0.5 2.54.0 3.6 1.2 2.55.5 Sum of skinfolds (mm) 56.0 12.9 38.582.5 67.3 24.8 46.5107.0 Density (g cm 3 ) 1.078 0.005 1.0681.083 1.073 0.009 1.0591.080 Body fat (%) 9.4 2.0 7.113.5 11.4 3.9 8.317.4 Fat mass 7.1 2.8 4.013.5 8.6 5.1 5.417.3 Fat-free mass 66.8 9.7 52.386.1 63.1 10.8 55.882.2 Neck girth (cm) 40.4 2.2 37.344.8 39.8 1.7 38.342.7 Waist girth (cm) 78.3 6.1 68.588.2 79.2 7.8 74.093.0 Hip girth (cm) 92.2 5.9 80.6103.0 91.9 6.2 87.5102.7 Right arm girth (cm) 32.8 3.0 28.038.0 30.7 2.9 27.035.2 Left arm girth (cm) 32.3 2.7 28.537.0 30.8 2.9 28.035.6 UMA (cm 2 ) 71.0 10.8 57.791.3 61.6 10.3 51.177.5 UFA (cm 2 ) 12.6 4.1 6.919.1 14.3 5.7 9.223.4 AFI (%) 14.8 3.3 10.321.1 18.5 4.4 13.523.2 Note: UMAupper arm muscular area; UFAupper arm fat area; AFIarm fat index. *PB0.05.

Characteristics of Italian national wrestlers 5 Table V. Mean values of principal physical characteristics for female wrestlers by weight class Weight class n Weight Height (cm) BMI (kg m 2 ) Cormic index % Body fat WC-W MWW WC-MWW 51 1 50.8 154.5 21.3 54.2 11.7 0.2 50.9 0.1 55 2 56.8 159.1 22.4 52.5 18.8 1.8 52.3 2.7 59 3 60.0 161.8 23.0 53.6 18.6 1.0 57.5 1.5 63 2 63.5 160.5 24.8 52.6 22.8 0.5 55.6 7.4 67 1 69.8 171.0 23.9 52.1 21.6 2.8 62.2 4.8 Note: WCweight class, Wweight, MWWminimum wrestling weight. Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 As wrestling is based on weight categories, we considered selected physical characteristics of the wrestlers according to weight class (Table V for females and Table VI for males). Due to the limited data, which were nonetheless representative of the sample, we report only mean values, without carrying out any statistical analysis, to indicate the general trend. Obviously, weight and height tended to increase in both sexes with increasing weight class; body mass index and percent body fat also tended to increase, while the cormic index, as expected, tended to decrease. We subsequently considered the difference between weight class and weight (WC-W), and between weight class and minimum wrestling weight (WC-MWW) for each weight class in both sexes. The negative values in these differences led us to analyse the results for each athlete. Figure 1 shows the comparison among weight, weight class, and minimum wrestling weight for each female wrestler, and Figure 2 shows the same for each male wrestler. All female wrestlers were competing in a higher weight class than their minimum wrestling weight (as shown by the positive WC-MWW values in Table V) and all but one of them (the lightest) were heavier than their respective weight class allows (as shown by the negative WC-W values in Table V). In contrast, five of the 14 male wrestlers were competing in a lower weight class than their minimum wrestling weight (as shown by the negative WC-MWW values in Table VI), and belonged to weight classes lower than 66 kg; all except for two wrestlers were heavier than their weight class permitted (as shown by the negative WC-W values in Table VI). Discussion Both elite male and female athletes differ significantly from reference populations in their physical and biological features, and tend to exhibit the specific characteristics of body shape and composition necessary for the sport practised. Indeed, having the ideal sport-specific body build is only one part of a complex interaction that leads to optimal performance (Claessens et al., 1999). Body size and proportions obviously affect performance. Wrestlers in general tend to have relatively short legs and long upper bodies, especially Greco- Roman wrestlers (Norton et al., 2004), as the cormic index of male wrestlers, especially Greco-Roman wrestlers, highlighted in the present study. This arrangement is advantageous for competitive performance, as a lower centre of gravity aids the athlete in maintaining balance in contact sports (essential when being struck by an opponent). Furthermore, having short legs is convenient in the execution of abrupt changes of direction. Although these characteristics were evident in the male wrestlers, the female wrestlers did not display this attribute (as the mesocormic values for the cormic index attest). However, it should be remembered that women s wrestling was only recently introduced, and thus attitudinal selection has had less time to have an effect on female wrestlers. Obtaining optimal body composition is one of the major concerns of wrestlers, and percent body fat is considered to be especially important by athletes and coaches. Moreover, McArdle et al. (1998) stated that wrestlers are athletes with the lowest percentages of fat in weight-categorized sporting events because it Table VI. Mean values of principal physical characteristics for male wrestlers by weight class Weight class n Weight Height (cm) BMI (kg m 2 ) Cormic index % Body fat WC-W MWW WC-MWW 55 1 56.3 164.7 20.8 53.1 7.1 1.3 55.1 0.1 60 4 63.8 166.8 23.0 53.6 8.6 3.8 61.4 1.4 66 3 68.5 169.1 24.0 52.3 10.5 2.5 64.6 1.4 74 3 75.2 173.9 24.9 51.3 9.5 1.2 71.6 2.4 84 1 82.4 187.1 23.5 50.5 9.4 1.6 78.6 5.4 96 2 99.5 181.3 30.3 51.8 15.5 3.5 88.5 7.5 Note: WCweight class, Wweight, MWWminimum wrestling weight.

Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 6 L. Zaccagni Figure 1. Comparisons of weight, weight class, and minimum wrestling weight (MWW) for female wrestlers. is believed that a low percent body fat is advantageous for optimal performance. All the Italian national wrestlers examined in the present study (excluding one female, the lightest) presented showed percent body fat above the minimum recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine (5% for males and 12% for females) (Wagner, 1996). In this study, percent body fat tended to increase with increasing weight class, in line with the results of Horswill (1992), who stated: the lightest wrestlers are reported to be the leanest (p. 124). This could be explained by different behavioural strategies: the lighter wrestlers appear more attentive to their fat mass/fat-free mass ratio than the heavier ones, as confirmed by the data, in which the highest body fat values were found in the two heavyweights (13.5% and 17.4%). Although data are available on wrestlers body composition, a comparison of the results of the present study with data from literature is difficult for a number of reasons: differences in competitive standard, sample sizes, and ages of participants. Hence, we confine ourselves to a comparison of mean body fat percentages of Italian national athletes with those of national Polish competitors (Hübner-Wozniak et al., 2004), as these samples were of similar size, age and competitive standard of wrestlers (Polish women: n 12, age 21.192.8 years, percent body fat23.793.2%; Polish men: n 10, age 22.793.3 years, percent body fat13.593.3%). The body fat percentages of Italian national wrestlers were significantly lower than those of their Polish counterparts, but this difference could be explained by the different method employed to assess body composition (near-infrared interactance). The current results, however, are in line with those of Horswill (1992), who stated that in the well-trained state, wrestlers appear to be 3 to 13% fat, which is exceptionally lean compared with non-athletes and most other athletes (p. 124), and with data on US male college wrestlers (n 93, age 20.291.7 years, percent body fat 9.7093.95%; Clark et al., 2002). Comparison of weight class with the actual weight of each wrestler showed that only three athletes (one female and two males) weighed less than their weight class allowed; all the others were considered overweight. This could be explained by the fact that elite male and female wrestlers could adopt the same behaviour of rapid weight loss before a match (Brown et al., 2006; Clark et al., 2002; Hetzler et al., 2006). Such a strategy could be more extreme in male than in female wrestlers, and especially in weight classes up to 66 kg, as these athletes compete in a lower weight class than their minimum wrestling weight. There is a growing body of evidence against weight cutting : several studies have shown that rapid weight loss has significant adverse consequences that may impair competitive performance, physical health, and normal growth and development (Oppliger et al., 1996). In particular, weight loss through dehydration has been documented to have deleterious effects on strength, anaerobic power, and lactate threshold, as weight loss reduces body water, glycogen, lean tissue, and only a small amount of fat (Carey, 2000). It is believed that a lower percentage of body fat is advantageous, but no relationship has been demonstrated between percent body fat and competitive success (Horswill, 1992). Furthermore, no association has been revealed between anaerobic parameters and percent fat mass. However, fat-free mass rather than percent fat mass may be a predictor of anaerobic performance (Vardar et al., 2007). Figure 2. Comparisons of weight, weight class, and minimum wrestling weight (MWW) for male wrestlers. Conclusion This study compared the anthropometric and body composition characteristics of male and female

Downloaded by [Luciana Zaccagni] at 22:42 20 July 2011 wrestlers, freestyle and Greco-Roman male wrestlers, and wrestlers by weight categories. Besides the expected differences between the sexes and the relevance of the cormic index, the most interesting finding was that males were more likely to compete at a weight class below the minimum predicted weight whereas females competed at or above the predicted class for their minimum weight. The present study aimed to increase existing knowledge of anthropometric features of wrestlers of a high competitive standard, as the identification of physical variables relevant to success is important for the selection of young athletes and the preparation of appropriate training programmes. However, it is acknowledged that further research is necessary to expand upon the findings. Acknowledgements The Author wishes to thank the FILJKAM, the Italian National team wrestlers, coaches and staff for their participation and Dr. R. 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