Effects of extracurricular sports in prepubertal and pubertal girls

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of the type of extracurricular sport on the body composition, respiratory parameters, and physical condition in prepubertal and pubertal girls. Four hundred and eighty-five female athletes (aged 8–14) from different sports participated in this study. They were gathered into four groups according to the sport typology and maturity level: ‘prepubertal girls who practise collective sports’ (PRE-CS), ‘prepubertal girls who practise individual sports’ (PRE-IS), ‘pubertal girls who practise collective sports’ (PUB-CS), and ‘pubertal girls who practise individual sports’ (PUB-IS). The cardiorespiratory fitness (the 20 m shuttle run test, 20 mSRT), anthropometry, respiratory capacity (forced spirometry), handgrip, CMJ test, and stabilometry were collected. Prepubertal girls showed a lower muscle mass (kg) and fat mass (kg) than pubertal girls regardless of the extracurricular sports typology. PRE-CS and PRE-IS also showed a lower respiratory fitness and physical fitness than pubertal girls (p < 0.05). Pubertal girls did not show significant differences (p > 0.05) in any of the body composition, respiratory fitness, and physical fitness variables when comparing between collective sports and individual sports. The results show that extracurricular participation in these types sports by prepubertal girls can influence their body composition, respiratory fitness, and physical condition.