Body composition and somatotype of judo athletes and untrained male students as a reference group for comparison in sport

Study aim: The aim of this study was to determine the body composition and somatotype of untrained male students studying at Warsaw University of Technology in 2011, in order to create a current reference group for comparison, and to investigate the difference in body build of male judoists compared with the non-athlete group.

Materials and methods: Fifteen male judo athletes (age 18.6 ± 1.9 years, body height 177.4 ± 8.5 cm, body mass 80.3 ± 15.8 kg, training experience 10.0 ± 2.8) and 154 male untrained students of the Warsaw University of Technology (age 20.1 ± 0.9 years, body height 180.9 ± 7.2 cm, body mass 75.6 ± 10.9 kg) participated in the study. Somatotype was determined using the Heath- Carter method.

Results: The mean somatotype of the untrained students was 3.94.62.9, whilst that of the judo athletes was 3.25.91.8; the groups differed significantly in their mesomorphy and ectomorphy components. Significant differences between the groups were found in breadth of wrist, bicristal diameter and arm circumference (p < 0.05). The groups were also significantly different in body composition as estimated by BIA and anthropometric methods (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The morphological characteristics of the judo athletes differed from those of the untrained men. The somatic profile of body build for athletes in this sport seems to be optimal for achieving high results, the somatotype not having changed since the 1990s.