September 1996, Volume 2 No. 2

ARTICLE 3

Anthropometric measurements and body composition of selected national athletes

Wan Nudri WD¹, Ismail MN² and Zawiak H^2
1 Division of Human Nutrition, Institute for Medical Research, 50588 Kuala Lumpur.
² Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur.

ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine the anthropometric measurements and body composition of selected national athletes. A total of 84 male athletes from 10 different types of sports and 24 female athletes from 5 types of sports were studied. The height and body weight of subjects were measured using the SEGA weighing balance with height attachment. Skinfold thickness measurements were taken using the Harpenden Calipers at 4 sites (biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac). Percentage of body fat was calculated from the sum of 4 measurements of skinfold thickness. Based on body mass index (BMI), most of the male (68 subjects or 81%) and female (19 subjects or 79%) athletes were classified as normal. The percentage average body fat for both male and female athletes were 13.8 ± 4.5% and 24.7 ± 5.3%, respectively. The male and female athletes also had lower percentage of body fat when compared to non-athletes, however these athletes had slightly higher percentage of body fat when compared to those in selected countries.

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