Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the hydration of fat-free mass (FFM) in athletes and non-athletes.
Methods
We analyzed the data of 128 healthy young adults (athletes: 61 men, 36 women; non-athletes: 19 men, 12 women) using the two-component (2C), 3C and 4C models. Under-water weighing or air-displacement plethysmography and deuterium dilution methods were used for estimating body density and total body water, respectively. The bone mineral content (BMC) was determined using whole-body scans by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results
There was no significant difference in FFM hydration between the athletes (men, 72.3 ± 1.3%; women, 71.8 ± 1.3%) and non-athletes (men, 72.1 ± 1.2%; women, 72.2% ± 1.0%) in the 3C model. The total mean FFM hydration (72.1% ± 1.3%) was similar to the corresponding value in the literature (~ 73%). The estimation error of the percentage fat by the 2C vs the 4C model was significantly and highly correlated with hydration (r = 0.96), BMC (r = − 0.70), and total body protein (r = − 0.86) in the 4C model FFM.
Conclusion
Although FFM hydration was similar in athletes and non-athletes, it would be underestimated or overestimated when the 2C model is used for evaluation, and the biological FFM hydration value deviates from the 73% value inter-individually. Despite that this inter-individual variation in FFM hydration is low in terms of between-individual standard deviation (1.3%), the BMC and total body protein differ greatly in athletes, and when it affects FFM hydration, it may also affect the percentage fat measurement in the 2C model. Thus, FFM hydration would not be affected by FFM, percent body fat, or the athletic status.
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Abbreviations
- ADP:
-
Air-displacement plethysmography
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- BIA:
-
Bioelectrical impedance analysis
- BMC:
-
Bone mineral content
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- C:
-
Component
- CV:
-
Coefficient of variation
- Db:
-
Body density
- DXA:
-
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
- FFM:
-
Fat-free mass
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- TBpro:
-
Total body protein
- TBW:
-
Total body water
- UWW:
-
Underwater weighing
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the volunteers who participated in this study and their coaches. We are also grateful to Dr. Hiroaki Tanaka, who passed away on April 23, 2018, for helping us in the athletes’ body composition study.
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HS and YH study conception and design; HS, JY, EK, MI and YT conduct of experiments; HS and YY data analysis; HS, YH, YY and HT interpretation of experimental results; HS preparation of illustrations; HS drafting of manuscript; HS, YH, YY JY, EK, MI, YT and HT editing and revising manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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This study was performed in compliance with the current Japanese law. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committees of the Fukuoka University (Approval No. 14-01-02), Japan Institute of Sports Science (Approval No. 050), and University of Tsukuba (Approval No. 019-33). This study has been performed in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki.
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The participants were invited to attend an informational meeting, at which they were informed of the investigation’s benefits and potential risks. All participants provided informed consent.
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Communicated by Klaas R Westerterp.
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Sagayama, H., Yamada, Y., Ichikawa, M. et al. Evaluation of fat-free mass hydration in athletes and non-athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 120, 1179–1188 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04356-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04356-y