A follow-up study of the variations in the body composition of karate athletes

We monitored body composition variations in nine elite karateists during a 3-year period (T(1), T(2), T(3)). Arm circumference (AC) and six skinfolds were measured. Arm muscle circumference (AMC) and area (AMA) were then calculated. Fat mass (FM) was calculated using the Durnin-Womersley, Sloan-Weir (S-W), Katch-McArdle and Lohman equations. The only significant increase regarded the AC, AMC and AMA measurements between T(1) and T(2). The time course of the predicted FM amount using the different equations was the same. In particular, the S-W equation did not seem to reflect the modifications in the amount of FM as evidenced by the total sum of the six skinfolds. Our subjects were characterized by a substantial uniformity in body composition parameters measured in this 3-year follow-up study.