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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN AMERICAN FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINEMEN.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The National Football Association (NFL) records anthropometric and athletic performance data for potential NFL players annually. Of the participants, offensive linemen (OL) and defensive linemen (DL) record the highest body mass indices (BMI), typically being categorized as overweight or obese based on BMI. When considering their elite athletic performance, BMI may poorly reflect weight status as it does not consider fat vs. fat-free mass. Therefore, this study examined differences in anthropometrics and athletic performance between OL and DL, and relationships between anthropometrics and athletic performance for OL and DL. METHODS: OL and DL (n=710, height=193±4cm, body mass=135±11kg, BMI=36±3) from the annual NFL combine between 2017-2023 were assessed. Athletic performance included: 10-yard split (10YS), 20-yard split (20YS), 40-yard dash (40YD), bench press test (BP), vertical jump (VJ), broad jump (BJ), pro agility test (PA), and the L-cone drill (LC). BMI was calculated as body mass (kg) divided by height (m) squared. Independent samples t-tests examined differences between OL and DL. Pearson correlation coefficients examined relationships between anthropometrics and athletic performance for OL and DL. RESULTS: OL had greater anthropometrics than DL (p<0.001). DL had better performance for the 10YS, 20YS, 40YD, VJ, BJ, PA, and LC (p<0.001). For DL, BMI had moderate to high relationships with 10YS, 20YS, 40YD, VJ, BJ, PA, and LC (r≥0.555) and a low relationship with BP, height had negligible relationships with athletic performance (r≥0.171), and body mass had moderate to high relationships with 10YS, 20YS, 40YD, VJ, BJ, PA, and LC (r≥0.548) and a low relationship with BP (r=0.311). For OL, BMI had negligible to low relationships with athletic performance (r≥0.165), height had negligible relationships with BP and PA (r≥0.141), and body mass had negligible to low relationships with 10YS, 20YS, 40YD, VJ, BJ, PA, and LC (r≥0.190). CONCLUSION: Anthropometrics had greater magnitudes of relationship with athletic performance for DL than OL. Lower BMI and body mass in DL, with better athletic performance and relationships between BMI and performance, may suggest that BMI for DL reflects greater fat-free, rather than fat, mass, which may not be the case for OL. Assessing fat vs. fat-free mass should be considered in this population to accurately assess obesity status and its impact on performance.

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