COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR DETERMINING PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT ON A SAMPLE OF KAYAKERS AND CANOEISTS – IN SLALOM

Abstract

Determining body structure in physical culture, sports, but also in sports recreation is one of the ways to check effectiveness of certain training programs and their impact on a percentage of subcutaneous fat and fat-free components. This study was conducted on a sample of 49 kayakers and slalom canoeists (aged 19.9 ± 1.7 years), and the aim was to compare validity of methods for estimating percentage of body fat based on the skinfold measurement method in relation to the bioelectrical impedance method for application in diagnostics within a training process of slalom kayakers and slalom canoeists. The percentage of body fat was determined by methods of determining the percentage of body fat according to Siri (1961), Brozek et al. (1963), Jackson, & Pollock, (1985) and the BIA bioelectrical impedance method. After statistical procedures, correlation analysis revealed a high correlation between the methods: anthropometric methods according to Siri and Brozek, both methods with the Jackson Pollock method, while all three methods have a high level of correlation with the BIA method, while the Wilcoxon test showed that the bioelectrical impedance method had statistically significantly higher values than the method of determining the percentage of body fat according to Siri & Brozek (p <0.001), and significantly lower than the method of determining the percentage of body fat according to Jackson Pollock (p = 0.005). The research showed that in the observed sample of respondents, when it comes to one respondent, a group of respondents, respondents within one sport or an uneven sample of non-athletes, if it is not possible to use some of the more sophisticated BIA methods, a satisfactory method could be the skinfold measurement method.