Relationship of height, body mass, muscle mass, fat mass, and the percentage of fat with athletic performance in male Japanese college sprinters, distance athletes, jumpers, throwers, and decathletes

Morphological characteristics are one of the critical factors needed to achieve success in any competition, and these characteristics are dependent on competitions and events. The present study aimed to determine the relationship of height, body mass, muscle mass, fat mass, and the percentage of body fat with athletic performance in male Japanese college sprinters, distance athletes, jumpers, throwers, and decathletes. The subjects included 24 sprinters and hurdlers, 21 distance athletes, 22 jumpers, 21 throwers, and 7 decathletes. The height and body mass of subjects were measured using a standard stadiometer and electrical scale. The muscle mass and fat mass were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. In the sprinter group and the distance athlete group, there were significant negative correlations between the percentage of fat and IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) scores (sprinter: r = -0.456) (distance: r = -0.453). In the decathlete group, there were significant positive correlations between body mass and the IAAF score (r = 0.835) and between muscle mass and the IAAF score (r = 0.797). In the jumper group and the thrower group, there were no significant correlations between body data and IAAF scores. These findings reveal that there were correlations between some body composition indicators and athletic performance in male Japanese college sprinters, distance athletes and decathletes.