Body composition and somatotype of Blind Athletes of 5-a-side Football of High-Performance

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the body composition and the somatotype of blind athletes of 5-a-side football of high-performance in different positions in play. Participated in this research 63 blind athletes (28.0 ± 5.8 years) from male of teams of 5-a-side football of high-performance.The athletes underwent an anthropometric evaluation to obtain the following measurements: skinfold thickness, body perimeters, bone diameters, height and total body mass. From these measurements, the following parameters were calculated: body fat percentage, lean mass percentage, ς of the 9 skinfolds, body mass index and somatotype. Wing athletes showed a significant difference (p <0.05) with lower values for % G (17.4%) compared to fixed athletes (23.1%) and pivots (21.5%). A meso-endomorphic somatotype profile was obtained, with a predominance of the muscular component in the team and in all positions in play. The knowledge of body composition and somatotype of these blind athletes of 5-a-side footballcan contribute to guidance and monitoring of training, favoring sports performance.