(42) SEASONAL CHANGES IN BODY COMPOSITION IN COLLEGIATE WOMEN ATHLETES

Purpose: Assessing body composition in athletes is beneficial to determine changes in fat free mass and body fat percentage that may impact speed, power, and endurance performance. However, there is a lack of research exploring seasonal changes in body composition across collegiate women’s sports. Understanding these changes can offer valuable insight into training and nutrition programming. To assess changes in body composition from pre- to post-season in collegiate women team sport athletes. Methods: A total of 43 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women athletes from volleyball (n=12; mean+SD; age: 19.66 + 1.37 yrs; body mass: 75.79 + 8.34 kg; height: 178.46 + 6.44 cm; body fat: 28.69 + 3.93 %), lacrosse (n=22; age: 19.36 + 0.85 yrs; body mass: 66.27 + 12.88 kg; height: 165.47 + 7.67 cm; body fat: 27.22 + 4.24 %) and basketball (n=9; age: 19 + 1.22 yrs; body mass: 72.88 + 8.59 kg; height: 174.75 + 7.51 cm; body fat: 24.54 + 2.67 %) participated. Body composition was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) prior to the start and upon finishing the competitive sport season. The following metrics were recorded: body mass (BM, kg), body fat percentage (BF%), fat free mass (FFM, kg), and fat mass (FM, kg). A 2 (time) x 3 (sport) x 7 (body composition metrics) repeated measures MANOVA was conducted to determine changes in body composition from pre- to post-season. Results: At baseline no differences in BF% (p=0.165), FFM (p=0.499), or FM (p=0.686) were observed across sports. Changes in body composition by sport are included in Table 1. Volleyball athletes experienced significant changes in BM (%∆ = -1.68), BF% (%∆ = -9.42) and FFM (%∆ = 2.14). Lacrosse athletes experienced significant changes in BM (%∆ = -0.98), BF% (%∆ = -2.97), and FM (%∆ = -3.91). Lastly, basketball athletes experienced no significant changes in any body composition metrics. Conclusions: Women athletes were susceptible to seasonal body composition changes, with volleyball and lacrosse athletes losing BF% and maintaining or improving FFM. Practical Applications: Due to possible body composition changes with in-season women sports, it is suggested practitioners focus on resistance training and nutrition programming in-season to support maintenance of FFM in collegiate women team sport athletes. Acknowledgements: None