Adam Gligoroski; Martin Andonovski; Serjoza Gontarev; Slobodan Doksimovski & Mihaela Nestorova
In boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and other combat sports, the optimal body composition is of great importance for athletes. Combat sports are weight sensitive, and monitoring and controlling the body mass weight and optimization of body mass components is directly related to sport performance. The aim of the study was to determine and compare the components of lean body mass and obesity parameters in athletes engaged in various martial arts using bioelectrical impedance analysis. In this study, 100 combat sports athletes were included, divided into 3 groups, boxers (n=30), kickboxers (n=30) and wrestlers (n=40). The bioelectrical impedance method was used for body composition analysis (BIA InBody 720, Biospace Co. Ltd., Seoul, Korea). We have analyzed the lean body mass components: Total body water (TBW), fat free mass (FFM), soft lean mass (SLM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), protein and minerals. Obesity diagnose parameters were: body fat mass (BFM), body fat percentage (BF %), body mass index (BMI), obesity degree and waist to hip ratio (WHR). The average value of SLM was 63.29 ± 7.9 kg, 60.53 ± 7.6 kg and 60.54 ± 7.7 kg, consequently for boxers (B), kickboxers (KB) and wrestlers (W). Skeletal muscle mass was similar between all three groups (p=0.471); B = 38.17 ± 5.1 kg, KB = 36.62 ± 4.9 kg and W = 38.39 ± 9.0 kg. The boxers had insignificantly higher body fat mass (BFM) compared to kickboxers and wrestlers (10.82 ± 3.9 kg, 8.69 ± 4.4 kg and 8.90 ± 3.1 kg, p=0.055). The BF % in the group boxers (13.76 ± 4.1 %) was insignificantly higher than BF % in kickboxers and wrestlers (11.69 ± 4.9 % and 11.96 ± 3.3 %, p=0.108). Fighters from all three martial arts showed well-developed muscle mass without significant difference for lean body mass components. Obesity diagnostic parameters were low in boxers, kickboxers and wrestlers, also without intergroups differences.
KEY WORDS: Boxers; Kickboxers; Wrestlers; Body composition; Muscle mass; Body fat.
GLIGOROSKI,A.;ANDONOVSKI,M.;GONTAREV,S.;DOKSIMOVSKI,S.&NESTOROVA,M. Leanbodymasscomponents and obesity diagnostic parameters in boxers, kickboxers and wrestlers. Int. J. Morphol., 44(4):1198-1204, 2026.
