Body Composition of High Performance Villaclareños Football Players According to Playing Positions

Abstract

The study of body composition in soccer players is fundamental due to its proven influence on performance and health. A retrospective, longitudinal, descriptive study was conducted to characterize the body composition of male soccer players from the Villa Clara social category. The population consisted of all members of the Villa Clara men's soccer team from 2016 to 2020. To obtain the primary data, a documentary analysis of medical and sports medical records and kinanthropometric records was performed, using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, skewness, kurtosis, and the ANOVA hypothesis testing for data analysis. It was found that, overall, the percentage of body fat was slightly higher compared to Cuban standards. This finding was also specifically obtained among soccer players who participated in the 2016, 2018, and 2019 national championships. Regarding playing positions, goalkeepers were found to differ significantly from the rest of the players, presenting greater weight, height, percentage of body fat, kilograms of fat, and active body mass. Despite these particularities, the Villa Clara soccer players were characterized by having a body composition similar to that of other national and international teams.