Relationship of upper arm anthropometry to body composition in female athletes

Abstract

Arm muscle area (AMA) and triceps skinfold (TSF) are simple techniques which are widely used in nutritional assessment. The value of AMA as a measure of lean mass and TSF as a measure of fat mass in female athletes was examined in this study. Subjects were 12 female NCAA Division III soccer and cross country athletes. Body fat percentage was determined by hydrostatic weighing (with residual volume estimated from age, height, and weight). Dietary intake (by six day diet record), hemoglobin and menstruation status were also assessed. The athletes were apparently in good nutritional status, although their intake of iron, calcium, folate and dietary fiber was somewhat low. TSF was significantly correlated with fat mass (r=.60, p=.04) and body fat percentage (r=.59, p=.04); but not with body weight (r=.33, p=.29). AMA was not significantly correlated with lean mass (r=.47, p=.12) or percent lean body mass (r=−.12, p=.72); but was more closely related to body weight (r=.56, p=.06). Both TSF (r=.58, p=.05) and AMA (r=.67, p=.02) were significantly correlated with body mass index. The results suggest that TSF may be useful for assessing fat mass in female athletes; while AMA tends to be more closely related to body weight than to lean mass.