Volleyball is an exceedingly popular physical activity in the adolescent population, especially with females. The study objective was to assess the effect of volleyball training and natural ontogenetic development on the somatic parameters of adolescent girls. The study was implemented in a group of 130 female volleyball players (aged 12.3 ± 0.5 - 18.1 ± 0.6 years) along with 283 females from the general population (aged 12.3 ± 0.5 - 18.2 ± 0.5 years). The measured parameters included: body height (cm), body mass (kg), body fat (kg, %), visceral fat (cm2), body water (l), fat free mass (kg) and skeletal muscle mass (kg, %). Starting at the age of 13, the volleyball players had significantly lower body fat ratio and visceral fat values than those in the general population (p < 0.001 in body fat % and p < 0.01 in visceral fat). In volleyball players, the mean body fat (%) values were 17.7 ± 6.6 in 12-year-old players, 16.7 ± 4.9 in 13-year-old players, 18.5 ± 3.9 in 16-year-old players, and 19.3 ± 3.1 in 18-year-old players. In the general population, the mean body fat (%) values were 19.6 ± 6.3 in 12-year-old girls, 21.7 ± 6.4 in 13-year-old girls, 23.4 ± 6.1 in 16-year-old girls, and 25.8 ± 7.0 in 18-year-old girls. The visceral fat (cm2) mean values were 36.4 ± 19.3 in 12-year-old players, 39.2 ± 16.3 in 13-year-old players, 45.7 ± 14.7 in 16-year-old players, and 47.2 ± 12.4 in 18-year-old players. In the general population, the mean visceral fat (cm2) values were 41.4 ± 21.1 in 12-year-old girls, 48.4 ± 21.5 in 13-year-old girls, 58.0 ± 24.7 in 16-year-old girls, and 69.1 ± 43.7 in 18-year-old girls. In volleyball players, lower body fat ratio corresponded with a higher skeletal muscle mass ratio. The differences found in skeletal muscle mass ratio were also significant starting at the age of 13 (p < 0.001). The mean skeletal muscle mass (%) values were 44.1 ± 3.4 in 12-year-old volleyball players, 45.4 ± 2.5 in 13-year-old players, 45.0 ± 2.2 in 16-year-old players, and 44.7 ± 1.8 in 18-year-old players. In the general population, the mean skeletal muscle mass (%) values were 42.8 ± 3.2 in 12-year-old girls, 42. ± 4.1 in 13-year-old girls, 41.9 ± 3.3 in 16-year-old girls, and 40.6 ± 3.7 in 18-year-old girls. Differences in body composition between the individual age groups were similar between the volleyball players and girls in the general population. The results indicate that regular volleyball training influences the body composition of young females however the development of body composition parameters is subject to their ontogenetic development.

Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Human Motion Diagnostics Center University of Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, Meckes N, Bassett Jr DR, Tudor-Locke C, Greer JL, Vezina J, Whitt-Glover MC, Leon AS. 2011 compendium of physical activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43:1575–1581. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31821ece12. PubMed DOI

Annesi JJ. Relationship of perceived health and appearance improvement, and self motivation, with adherence to exercise in previously sedentary women. European Journal of Sport Science. 2004;4:1–13. doi: 10.1080/17461390400074203. DOI

Beaufrère B, Morio B. Fat and protein redistribution with ageing: metabolic considerations. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2000;54:48–53. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601025. PubMed DOI

Bunc V. A movement intervention as a tool of the influence of physical fitness and health. Trends in Sport Sciences. 2018;4:209–216. doi: 10.23829/TSS.2018.25.4-6. DOI

Calleja-Gonzalez J, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Sanchez-Ureña B, Ostojic SM, Terrados N. Recovery in Volleyball. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2019;59:982–993. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08929-6. PubMed DOI

Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; New Jersey: 1988.

Ćopić N, Dopsaj M, Ivanović J, Nešić G, Jarić S. Body composition and muscle strength predictors of jumping performance: differences between elite female volleyball competitors and nontrained individuals. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2014;28:2709–2716. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000468. PubMed DOI

Ennis CD. Educating students for a lifetime of physical activity: enhancing mindfulness, motivation, and meaning. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2017;88:241–250. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2017.1342495. PubMed DOI

Forrestal SG. Energy intake misreporting among children and adolescents: a literature review. Maternal and Child Nutrition. 2011;7:112–127. doi: 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2010.00270.x. PubMed DOI PMC

Glinkowska B, Glinkowski WM. Association of sports and physical activity with obesity among teenagers in Poland. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health. 2018;31:771–782. doi: 10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01170. PubMed DOI

Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull C. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1.9 million participants. The Lancet. 2018;6:e1077–e1138. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30357-7. PubMed DOI

Haberka M, Stolarz-Skrzypek K, Biedroń M, Szóstak-Janiak K, Partyka M, Olszanecka-Glinianowicz M, Gąsior Z. Obesity, visceral fat, and hypertension-related complications. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. 2018;16:521–529. doi: 10.1089/met.2018.0062. PubMed DOI

Haskell WL, Lee IM, Pate RR, Powell KE, Blair SN, Franklin BA, Macera CA, Heath GW, Thompson PD, Bauman A. Physical activity and public health. Updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2007;116:1081–1093. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185649. PubMed DOI

Hopkins WG. Measures of reliability in sports medicine and science. Sports Medicine. 2000;30:1–15. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200030010-00001. PubMed DOI

Janssen I. Physical activity guidelines for children and youth. Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. 2007;32:109–121. doi: 10.1139/H07-109. DOI

Janssen I, Leblanc A. Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2010;7:1–16. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-7-40. PubMed DOI PMC

Joyner C, Loprinzi PD. Longitudinal effects of personality on physical activity among college students: examining executive function as a potential moderator. Psychological Reports. 2018;121:344–355. doi: 10.1177/0033294117726076. PubMed DOI

Kahlin Y, Werner S, Edman G, Raustorp A, Alricsson M. Physical self-esteem and personality traits in Swedish physically inactive female high school students: an intervention study. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health. 2016;28:363–372. doi: 10.1515/ijamh-2015-0017. PubMed DOI

Kobzová J, Vignerová J, Bláha P, Krejcovský L, Riedlová J. The 6th nationwide anthropological survey of children and adolescents in the Czech Republic in 2001. Central European Journal of Public Health. 2004;12:126–130. PubMed

Kutáč P. Inter-daily variability in body composition among young men. Journal of Physiological Anthropology. 2015;34:1–7. doi: 10.1186/s40101-015-0070-6. PubMed DOI PMC

Kyle UG, Bosaeus I, De Lorenzo AD, Deurenberg P, Elia M, Manuel Gomez J, Lilienthal Heitmann B, Kent-Smith L, Melchior JC, Pirlich M, Scharfetter H, Schols AMWJ, Pichard C, ESPEN Bioelectrical impedance analysis –part II: utilization in clinical practice. Clinical Nutrition. 2004;23:1430–1453. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012. PubMed DOI

Laroche J-A, Girard S, Lemoyne J. Tracing adolescent girls’ motivation longitudinally: from FitClub participation to leisure-time physical activity. Perceptual & Motor Skills. 2019;126:986–1005. doi: 10.1177/0031512519864194. PubMed DOI

Lazaar N, Aucouturier J, Ratel S, Rance M, Meyer M, Duché P. Effect of physical activity intervention on body composition in young children: influence of body mass index status and gender. Acta Paediatrica. 2007;96:1321–1322. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00426.x. PubMed DOI PMC

Liu J, Sun H, Beets MW, Probst JC. Assessing natural groupings of common leisure-time physical activities and its correlates among US adolescents. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2013;10:470–479. doi: 10.1123/jpah.10.4.470. PubMed DOI

Lobietti R, Coleman S, Pizzichllo E, Merni F. Landing techniques in volleyball. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2010;28:1469–1476. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2010.514278. PubMed DOI

Malá L, Malý T, Zahálka F, Bunc V, Kaplan A, Jebavy R, Tuma M. Body composition of elite female players in five different sports games. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2015;45:207–215. doi: 10.1515/hukin-2015-0021. PubMed DOI PMC

Malina RM. Body composition in athletes: assessment and estimated fatness. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 2007;26:37–78. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2006.11.004. PubMed DOI

Malina RM, Geithner CHA. Body composition of young athletes. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2011;5:262–278. doi: 10.1177/1559827610392493. DOI

Malina RM, Rogol AD, Cumming SP, Coelho e Silva MJ, Figueiredo AJ. Biological maturation of youth athletes: assessment and implications. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015;49:852–859. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094623. PubMed DOI

Murakami K, Livingstone MB. Prevalence and characteristics of misreporting of energy intake in US children and adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2012. British Journal of Nutrition. 2016;115:294–304. doi: 10.1017/S0007114515004304. PubMed DOI

Nelson ME, Rejeski WJ, Blair SN, Duncan PW, Judge JO, King AC, Macera CA, Castaneda-Sceppa C. Physical activity and public health in older adults: Recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2007;39:1435–1445. doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e3180616aa2. PubMed DOI

Ng M, Fleming T, Robinson M, Thomson B, Graetz N, Margono C, Mullany EC, Biryukov S, Abbafati C, Abera SF, Abraham JP, Abu-Rmeileh NME, Achoki T, AlBuhairan FS, Alemu ZA, Alfonso R, Ali MK, Ali R, Guzman NA, Ammar W, Anwari P, Banerjee A, Barquera S, Basu S, Bennett DA, gar Bhutta Z, Blore J, Cabral N, Nonato IC, Chang J-Ch, Chowdhury R, Courville K, Criqui M, Cundiff DK, Dabhadkar KC, Dandona L, Davis A, Dayama A, Dharmaratne SD, Ding EL, Durrani AM, Esteghamati A, Farzadfar F, Fay DFJ, Feigin VL, Flaxman A, Forouzanfar MH, Goto A, Green MA, Gupta R, Hafezi-Nejad N, Hankey GJ, Harewood HC, Havmoeller R, Hay S, Hernandez L, Husseini A, Idrisov BT, Ikeda N, Islami F, Jahangir E, Jassal SK, Jee SH, Jeff reys M, Jonas JB, Kabagambe EK, Khalifa SEAH, Kengne AP, Khader YS, Khang Y-H, Kim D, Kimokoti RW, Kinge JM, Kokubo Y, Kosen S, Kwan G, Lai T, Leinsalu M, Li Y, Liang X, Liu S, Logroscino G, Lotufo PA, Lu Y, Ma J, Mainoo NK, Mensah GA, Merriman TR, Mokdad AH, Moschandreas J, Naghavi M, Naheed A, Nand D, Narayan KMV, Nelson EL, Neuhouser ML, Nisar MI, Ohkubo T, Oti SO, Pedroza A, Prabhakaran D, Roy N, Sampson U, Seo H, Sepanlou SG, Shibuya K, Shiri R, Shiue I, Singh GM, Singh JA, Skirbekk V, Stapelberg NJC, Sturua L, Sykes BL, Tobias M, Tran BX, Trasande L, Toyoshima H, van de Vijver S, Vasankari TJ, Veerman JL, Velasquez-Melendez G, Vlassov VV, Vollset SE, Vos T, Wang C, Wang XR, Weiderpass E, Werdecker A, Wright JL, Yang YC, Yatsuya H, Yoon J, Yoon S-J, Zhao Y, Zhou M, Zhu S, Lopez AD, Murray ChJL, Gakidou E. Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. 2014;384:766–781. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60460-8. PubMed DOI PMC

Nikolaidis PT. Body mass index and body fat percentage are associated with decreased physical fitness in adolescent and adult female volleyball players. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 2013;18:22–26. PubMed PMC

Nikolaidis PT, Gkoudas K, Afonso J, Clemente-Suarez VJ, Knechtle B, Kasabalis S, Kasabalis A, Douda H, Tokmakidis S, Torres-Luque G. Who jumps the highest? Anthropometric and physiological correlations of vertical jump in youth elite female volleyball players. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2017;57:802–810. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.16.06298-8. PubMed DOI

Nikolaidis PT, Ziv G, Arnon G, Lidor R. Physical characteristics and physiological attributes of female volleyball players—the need for individual data. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2012;26:2547–2557. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31823f8c06. PubMed DOI

Papadopoulou SD, Papadopoulou SK, Rosemann T, Knechtle B, Nikolaidis PT. Relative age effect on youth female volleyball players: a pilot study on its prevalence and relationship with anthropometric and physiological characteristic. Frontiers in Psychology. 2019;10:2737. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02737. PubMed DOI PMC

Papadopoulou SD, Zorzou A, Garcia-de Alcaraz A, Rosemann T, Knechtle B, Nikolaidis PT. Subcutaneous adipose tissue in female volleyball players: is it related with performance indices? Medicina. 2020;56:1–3. doi: 10.3390/medicina56040159. PubMed DOI PMC

Paz GA, Gabbett TJ, Maia MF, Santana H, Miranda H, Lima V. Physical performance and positional differences among young female volleyball players. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2017;57:1282–1289. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.16.06471-9. PubMed DOI

Riebe D, Franklin BA, Thompson PD, Garber CE, Whitfield GP, Magal M, Pescatello S. Updating ACSM’s recommendations for exercise preparticipation health screening. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2015;47:2473–2479. doi: 10.1249/mss.0000000000000664. PubMed DOI

Roriz DE, Oliveira MS, Teixeira Seabra AF, Ribeiro Maia JA. Effects of a recreational physical activity summer camp on body composition, metabolic syndrome and physical fitness in obese children. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2016;56:933–938. PubMed

Scribbans TD, Berg K, Narazaki K, Janssen I, Gurd BJ. Heart rate during basketball game play and volleyball drills accurately predicts oxygen uptake and energy expenditure. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2015;55:905–913. PubMed

Sigmund E, Sigmundová D, Badura P, Kalman M, Hamrik Z, Pavelka J. Temporal trends in overweight and obesity, physical activity and screen time among Czech adolescents from 2002 to 2014: a National health behaviour in school-aged children study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2015;12:11848–11868. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120911848. PubMed DOI PMC

Tillman MD, Criss RM, Brunt D, Hass CJ. Landing constraints influence ground reaction forces and lower extremity EMG in female volleyball players. Journal of Applied Biomechanics. 2004a;20:38–50. doi: 10.1123/jab.20.1.38. DOI

Tillman MD, Hass CHJ, Brunt D, Bennett GR. Jumping and landing techniques in elite women’s Volleyball. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2004b;3:30–36. PubMed PMC

Tota L, Pilch W, Piotrowska A, Maciejczyk M. The effects of conditioning training on body build, aerobic and anaerobic performance in elite mixed martial arts athletes. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2019;70:223–231. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2019-0033. PubMed DOI PMC

Troiano RP, Berrigan D, Dodd KW, Mâsse LC, Tilert T, McDowell M. Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2008;40:181–188. doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e31815a51b3. PubMed DOI

Tsigos C, Hainer V, Basdevant A, Finer N, Fried M, Mathus-Vliegen E, Micic D, Maislos M, Roman G, Schutz Y, Toplak H, Zahorska-Markiewicz B. Obesity management task force of the european association for the study of obesity. Management of obesity in adults: European clinical practice guidelines. Obes Facts. 2008;1:106–116. doi: 10.1159/000126822. PubMed DOI PMC

Tsoukos A, Drikos S, Brown LE, Sotiropoulos K, Veligekas P, Bogdanis GC. Anthropometric and motor performance variables are decisive factors for the selection of junior national female volleyball players. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2019;67:163–173. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2019-0012. PubMed DOI PMC

Vadiveloo M, Zhu L, Quatromoni PA. Diet and physical activity patterns of school-aged children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2009;109:145–151. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2008.10.012. PubMed DOI

Valente-Dos-Santos J, Tavares ÓM, Duarte JP, Sousa-E-Silva PM, Rama LM, Casanova JM, Fontes-Ribeiro CA, Marques EA, Courteix D, Ronque ERV, Cyrino ES, Conde J, Coelho-E-Silva MJ. Total and regional bone mineral and tissue composition in female adolescent athletes: comparison between volleyball players and swimmers. BMC Pediatrcs. 2018;18:1–11. doi: 10.1186/s12887-018-1182-z. PubMed DOI PMC

Van Gaal LF, Mertens IL, De Block CE. Mechanisms linking obesity with cardiovascular disease. Nature. 2006;444:875–880. doi: 10.1038/nature05487. PubMed DOI

Vaverka F, Cernosek M. Association between body height and serve speed in elite tennis players. Sports Biomechanics. 2013;12:30–37. doi: 10.1080/14763141.2012.670664. PubMed DOI

Vicente-Rodríguez G, Rey-López JP, Mesana MI, Poortvliet E, Ortega FB, Polito A, Nagy E, Widhalm K, Sjöström M, Moreno LA. Reliability and intermethod agreement for body fat assessment among two field and two laboratory methods in adolescents. Obesity. 2012;20:221–228. doi: 10.1038/oby.2011.272. PubMed DOI

Visnes H, Bahr R. Training volume and body composition as risk factors for developing jumper’s knee among young elite volleyball players. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2013;23:607–613. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2011.01430.x. PubMed DOI

Woodruff SJ, Meloche RD. Energy availability of female varsity volleyball players. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2012;23:24–30. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.23.1.24. PubMed DOI

Zahradnik D, Jandacka D, Holcapek M, Farana R, Uchytil J, Hamill J. Blocking landing techniques in volleyball and the possible association with anterior cruciate ligament injury. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2017;36:955–961. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2017.1346817. PubMed DOI

Changes in the body composition of boys aged 11-18 years due to COVID-19 measures in the Czech Republic