Sex Differences in the Impact of Body Composition and Bone Mineral Content on Cardiopulmonary Performance in Elite Youth Water Polo Athletes.

ABSTRACT: Body composition, bone mineral density, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) are commonly used to assess aerobic fitness in athletes, but their interrelationships remain unclear. This study compared these parameters by sex and examined their associations in elite athletes. Our study included 145 youth water polo players (age: 15.7 ± 1.6 years; male: 75). Body composition was measured by DEXA, and treadmill CPET was performed using a sport-specific protocol. We analysed the correlations between the following factors by multivariate linear regression: lean body mass (LBM, LBM_index); body fat mass (BFM); percent body fat (PBF); bone mineral content (BMC); lumbar, femoral, and radial bone mineral density (LBMD, FNBMD, FTBMD, RBMD); exercise time; absolute and relative maximal

SUBMITTER: Benko R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12944400 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature