Although the contribution of physique and body composition in soccer performance was recognized, these parameters of physical fitness were not well-studied in adolescent players. Aim of this study was to investigate physique and body composition across adolescence.
Male adolescents ( N=297 aged 12.01–20.98 y), classified into nine one-year age-groups, child (control group, N=16 aged 7.34–11.97 y) and adult players (control group, N=29 aged 21.01–31.59 y), all members of competitive soccer clubs, performed a series of anthropometric measures (body mass, height, skinfolds, circumferences and girths), from which body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat (BF%), fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM) and somatotype (Heath-Carter method) were calculated.
Age had a positive association with FM ( r=0.2, P<0.001) and FFM ( r=0.68, P<0.001), and a negative association with BF ( r=−0.12, P=0.047). Somatotype components changed across adolescence as well; age was linked to endomorphy ( r=−0.17, P=0.005), mesomorphy ( r=0.14, P=0.019) and ectomorphy ( r=−0.17, P=0.004). Compared with age-matched general population, participants exhibited equal body mass, higher stature, lower body mass index and lower BF.