TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sammoud, Senda
A1  - Nevill, Alan Michael
A1  - Negra, Yassine
A1  - Bouguezzi, Raja
A1  - Chaabene, Helmi
A1  - Hachana, Younés
T1  - Key somatic variables in young backstroke swimmers
JF  - Journal of sports sciences
N2  - The purpose of this study was to estimate the optimal body size, limb-segment length, girth or breadth ratios for 100-m backstroke mean speed performance in young swimmers. Sixty-three young swimmers (boys [n = 30; age: 13.98 ± 0.58 years]; girls [n = 33; age: 13.02 ± 1.20 years]) participated in this study. To identify the optimal body size and body composition components associated with 100-m backstroke speed performance, we adopted a multiplicative allometric log-linear regression model, which was refined using backward elimination. The multiplicative allometric model exploring the association between 100-m backstroke mean speed performance and the different somatic measurements estimated that biological age, sitting height, leg length for the lower-limbs, and two girths (forearm and arm relaxed girth) are the key predictors. Stature and body mass did not contribute to the model, suggesting that the advantage of longer levers was limb-specific rather than a general whole-body advantage. In fact, it is only by adopting multiplicative allometric models that the abovementioned ratios could have been derived. These findings highlighted the importance of considering somatic characteristics of young backstroke swimmers and can help swimming coaches to classify their swimmers and enable them to suggest what might be the swimmers’ most appropriate stroke (talent identification).
KW  - Allometric models
KW  - anthropometric measures
KW  - backstroke swimming
KW  - gender
KW  - talent identification
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1546547
SN  - 0264-0414
SN  - 1466-447X
VL  - 37
IS  - 10
SP  - 1162
EP  - 1167
PB  - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
CY  - Abingdon
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Christakoudi, Sofa
A1  - Tsilidis, Konstantinos K.
A1  - Muller, David C.
A1  - Freisling, Heinz
A1  - Weiderpass, Elisabete
A1  - Overvad, Kim
A1  - Söderberg, Stefan
A1  - Häggström, Christel
A1  - Pischon, Tobias
A1  - Dahm, Christina C.
A1  - Zhang, Jie
A1  - Tjønneland, Anne
A1  - Schulze, Matthias Bernd
T1  - A Body Shape Index (ABSI) achieves better mortality risk stratification than alternative indices of abdominal obesity: results from a large European cohort
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - Abdominal and general adiposity are independently associated with mortality, but there is no consensus on how best to assess abdominal adiposity. We compared the ability of alternative waist indices to complement body mass index (BMI) when assessing all-cause mortality. We used data from 352,985 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for other risk factors. During a mean follow-up of 16.1 years, 38,178 participants died. Combining in one model BMI and a strongly correlated waist index altered the association patterns with mortality, to a predominantly negative association for BMI and a stronger positive association for the waist index, while combining BMI with the uncorrelated A Body Shape Index (ABSI) preserved the association patterns. Sex-specific cohort-wide quartiles of waist indices correlated with BMI could not separate high-risk from low-risk individuals within underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m(2)) or obese (BMI30 kg/m(2)) categories, while the highest quartile of ABSI separated 18-39% of the individuals within each BMI category, which had 22-55% higher risk of death. In conclusion, only a waist index independent of BMI by design, such as ABSI, complements BMI and enables efficient risk stratification, which could facilitate personalisation of screening, treatment and monitoring.
KW  - all-cause mortality
KW  - anthropometric measures
KW  - mass index
KW  - overweight
KW  - cancer
KW  - prediction
KW  - adiposity
KW  - size
Y1  - 2020
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
PB  - Springer Nature
CY  - Berlin
ER  -