Background: Several anthropometric equations that estimate skeletal muscle mass (SMM) have been published, but their applicability and accuracy among athletes are still uncertain.
Purpose: To assess the accuracy of different anthropometric equations that estimate SMM in professional male soccer players, as compared to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference method.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 179 professional male soccer players aged between 18 and 37 years. Anthropometric measurements (height, body weight, skinfold thicknesses, and girths) and a DXA whole body scan were performed the same day for each participant, and SMM was estimated with nine anthropometric equations (Heymsfield, Martin, Doupe, Kerr, Drinkwater, Lee, De Rose, and two equations published by Kuriyan). To determine differences between SMM estimated with anthropometric equations and SMM evaluated with DXA, a Kruskal-Wallis test was performed using Dunn's test as post hoc. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. We calculated the mean difference and 95% limits of agreement for the analyzed equations (Equation - DXA).
Results: Only Heymsfield's and Lee's equations showed no significant differences with DXA. Heymsfield's equation had the smallest mean difference (-0.17 kg), but wider limits of agreement with DXA (-6.61 to 6.94 kg). Lee's equation had a small mean difference (1.10 kg) but narrower limits of agreement with DXA (-1.83 to 4.03 kg).
Conclusions: In this study, the prediction equation published by Lee et al. showed the best agreement with DXA and is able to estimate SMM accurately in professional male soccer players.