Body Composition and Morphological Limbs Asymmetry in Competitors in Six Martial Arts/Composicion Corporal y Asimetria Morfologica de Miembros en Competidores en Seis Artes Marciales

The aim of this study was to compare body composition (BC) and morphological symmetry differences among elite athletes (n = 132) in six martial arts (judo, karate, fencing, wrestling, taekwondo, kickboxing). Multivariate analysis of variances (MANOVA) was used to compare the following variables: absolute (FFM) and relative ([FFM.sub.rel]) value of fat free mass, percentage of fat mass (FMp), bone mass, protein mass, basal metabolic rate, absolute (TBW) and percentual (TBWp) value of total body water, segmental proportion of muscle mass, phase angle, and percent-age differences between the upper and lower limbs. MANOVA revealed significant differences in BC among the groups ([lambda] = 0.01, [F.sub.104,256] = 10.01, p< 0.01, [eta][p.sup.2] = 0.67). No significant differences were observed for [FM.sub.p], [FFM.sub.rel], and [TBW.sub.p] (p>0.05). In all other BC variables, significant differences were detected (p