Abstract
Young judo athletes are bio-banding based on age and body mass and compete in weight classes. The purposes of this study were to investigate the influences of maturation on physical performance in young judokas through controlling the chronological age and body mass, and to examine the mediating role of anthropometric variables. Sixty-seven judokas, aged 11.0–14.7, were measured for 11 anthropometric and seven physical performance variables. Pearson partial correlations were conducted to verify the relationship between the maturational indicator and the dependent variables. Mediation analyses were performed to identify the extent to which anthropometric variables mediate the relationship. The maturation effect remained on the aerobic capacity and handgrip strength (p < 0.05). Fat mass (b = 80.335, 95%CI 11.580–204.270) and fat-free mass (b = 108.256, 95%CI 39.508–207.606) totally mediated the effect on aerobic capacity. Fat mass (b = 0.023, 95%CI 0.004–0.057), fat-free mass (b = 0.029, 95%CI 0.011–0.058), stature (b = 0.031, 95%CI 0.008–0.061), arm span (b = 0.021, 95%CI 0.003–0.044), and inferior members length (b = 0.022, 95%CI 0.005–0.049) totally mediated the effect on handgrip strength. The effect of biological maturation is noticeable even after age and body mass control, being mediated by anthropometric variables related to body composition and size.
Highlights
Chronological age is traditionally used in youth sports for the purpose of matching competitors or teams [1]
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of biological maturation and the role of anthropometric variables as possible mediators of this effect on young judokas physical performance, inasmuch as there is evidence that the current criteria used to grouping these athletes for training and competition, i.e., chronological age and body mass, may not be effective to control the maturation effect, and lead to the practice of rapid weight loss (RWL)
This study sought to verify if the effect of maturation is evidenced in a sample of young judokas even with control of chronological age and body mass and, if so, which anthropometric variables mediate this effect
Summary
Chronological age is traditionally used in youth sports for the purpose of matching competitors or teams [1] This approach has various limitations that at any given age there can be large maturity-associated variations in size and functional capacities among children [2,3,4,5]. Being advance in maturity may provide an advantage for young male athletes in sports characterized by power, strength, and speed [6]. In girls, it is associated with greater size and strength [7,8,9]. Bio-banding refers to the process of grouping young athletes into bands according to attributes related to growth and maturation status rather than chronological age [13]
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