Midwest wrestling study

TLDR

The study evaluated the accuracy of existing and new equations for predicting fat‑free body mass in Midwestern high‑school wrestlers. Data were pooled from five laboratories, totaling 860 wrestlers, with body composition assessed by underwater weighing and anthropometric measurements. Cross‑validation revealed that Lohman, Thorland et al., Katch and McArdle, and Behnke and Wilmore equations had the lowest error (2.44–2.59 kg), which was smaller in younger/lighter wrestlers and larger in older/heavier ones; modifying constants or creating new equations did not improve accuracy, so these equations can be used alone or combined to estimate fat‑free body mass and assign a minimal weight to a scholastic wrestler.

Abstract

This study determined the validity of previously published or newly derived equations to predict fat-free body mass (FFB) in high school wrestlers from the midwestern United States. Five laboratories participated in the data-pooling study (total sample of 860 subjects). Measures included body composition by underwater weighing and anthropometric measurements of body mass, stature, and selected circumferences, diameters, and skinfolds. Cross-validation of selected equations to predict FFB revealed the lowest levels of error from the equations of Lohman, Thorland et al., Katch and McArdle, and Behnke and Wilmore. Modification of the constants in these equations or generation of new equations did not substantially reduce prediction error. Overall, total error for these top equations ranged from 2.44 to 2.59 kg. However, based on observed trends, this error was of lower magnitude with the younger and lighter subjects and of higher magnitude with the older and heavier subjects. We conclude that these equations could be used singularly or collectively to determine FFB, and a minimal weight could then be derived and assigned to a scholastic wrestler.