Natl. J. Physiol. Pharm. Pharmacol. (2025), Vol. 15(2): 175-179

Research Article

10.5455/NJPPP.2025.v15.i2.10

Study of lean body mass and VO2 max between male volleyball players and age-matched control group

Swati R. Gawali*, Mayur Jadhav, Rita Khadkikar

Department of Physiology, MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai, India

*Corresponding Author: Swati. R. Gawali. Department of Physiology, MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai, India. Email: sgawali66 [at] gmail.com

Submitted: 27/10/2024 Accepted: 16/01/2025 Published: 28/02/2025

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Abstract

Background: A sedentary lifestyle can lead to various health problems. Engaging in sports activities can improve the overall fitness of individuals, improve general well-being, and prevent the incidence of non-communicable diseases.

Aim: To compare and correlate lean body mass and oxygen consumption (VO2 max) between male volleyball players and an age-matched control group.

Method: The study aimed to investigate differences in lean body mass and VO2 max between male volleyball players and controls aged 18–25 years. Lean body mass was analyzed by skin-fold thickness and standardized formula. VO2 max was measured by Queens College step test. Data analysis was done by descriptive statistic, unpaired t test, and Spearman test for correlation.

Results: The lean body mass and VO2 max of volleyball players were more as compared to the control group which was statistically significant and there was no association between lean body mass and VO2 max.

Conclusion: Involving in sports activities like volleyball can help improve overall health and physical performance.

Keywords: Volleyball, Lean body mass, VO2 max.

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Introduction

Physical fitness is crucial for maintaining and improving health throughout an individual’s lifespan. It has been shown to have beneficial effects on various systems, such as the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic, and neurocognitive systems, and also in non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Regular endurance-oriented and muscle-strengthening physical activity can achieve far-reaching health benefits. Involving in Sports is one form of physical activity that has many positive consequences on health (Taware et al., 2013).

Volleyball is a sport that can improve physical fitness. It differs from other sports due to its unique rotation structure (Sathish, 2020). It is an intermittent sport generally played on an indoor field that is much smaller than that of a soccer field, in which two teams of six players each are separated by a net. This game includes a large number of spiking, jumping, power hitting, blocking, and settings that are mainly based on a high level of strength and power. They require an optimal aerobic capacity, which is assessed by VO2 max values (Popovic et al., 2014). Volleyball players require well-developed speed, agility, upper body and lower body muscular power, and maximal aerobic power (Tsunawake et al., 2003; Gabbett and Georgieff, 2007; Balasas et al., 2013).

Lean body mass is one of the parameters of body composition that can help to measure physical ability and provide information about metabolic rate, which can help to designpersonalized nutrition and exercise plans. Monitoring changes in lean body mass aids in tracking muscle growth or loss, especially during weight management or athletic training, while VO2 max is used to measure the maximum aerobic capacity of an individual, which denotes cardiorespiratory fitness, i.e., how efficiently the body utilizes oxygen.

Much less data is found with respect to body composition and VO2 max in volleyball players in India. Hence, in our study, we assessed and compared the Lean body mass and VO2 max of volleyball players and the control group and correlated lean body mass and VO2 max in both groups.

The study can help improve the performance of volleyball players and can create awareness among the general population for their involvement in any form of sports activity to improve their physical fitness, which can prevent the occurrence of non-communicable diseases.

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Materials and Methods

This observational, comparative study was conducted on 104 males in the age group of 18–25 years in the Department of Physiology, MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai. Ethical Approval from the institutional ethical Committee was obtained (Approval no: DHR-EC/2022/SC/12/127).

The study group included 52 male volleyball players volunteering to participate between age groups 18–25 years qualified for district level and further practicing, volleyball for more than 1 year, while the control group included 52 males volunteering to participate in the study of age group 18–25 years not involved in any sport/athletic activity (sedentary).

Players not volunteering to participate, Injured volleyball players, players involved in any other sports other than volleyball, and subjects suffering from any respiratory diseases were excluded from the study.

Volleyball players were identified from nearby volleyball clubs in Navi Mumbai, and a control group was approached from the MGM campus in Navi Mumbai. A written informed consent was obtained from each participant. The Institutional Ethics Committee approved the study. Anthropometric measurements like height, weight, and BMI, were taken.

Lean body mass analysis was done by skinfold thickness measured in millimeter (mm) using a skinfold caliper at three sites (Chest, Abdomen & Thigh). The male-specific jackson-pollock equation was used to measure body density: Total body density=1.10938 - (0.0008267 × skinfolds) + (0.0000016 × (skinfolds)2 - (0.0002574 × age) (Kravitz and Vivian, 2014) from which body fat percentage and lean body mass were calculated. Body fat percentage was calculated using siriequation (Confortin et al., 2022). Body fat percentage=(4.95 / body density – 4.50) × 100.

Lean body mass was determined by deducting computed fat mass from the total body weight (Waidyatilaka et al., 2016). Lean Body Mass (LBM)=Weight − (Weight × Body Fat Percentage).

VO2 max was measured using the Queen’s College Step Test to determine maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), which is an indicator of overall aerobic fitness. After stepping up and down on a platform of 16.25 inches to the beat of a metronome at a frequency of 24 steps per minute, the radial pulse was measured for 15 seconds (Kumar and Goswami, 2019).

VO2 max was calculated using the formula: VO2 max (ml/kg/min)=111.33 − (0.42 × heart rate in bpm) (Elsey et al., 2021). Fifteen seconds of Recovery heart rate (HR) was converted as beats per minute (15 second HR x 4).

Descriptive variables of participants were summarized using suitable measures of central tendencies for continuous data by mean and variability by SD. Unpaired t-tests were used to compare lean body mass and VO2 max between study and control groups using SPSS software version 20.0. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. Spearman test of correlation was used to correlate lean body mass and VO2 max.

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Results

The weight of volleyball players was measured to be 74.74 ± 9.76 kg, whereas the weight of the control group was measured at 72.12 ± 8.32 kg. The mean weight of volleyball players was higher than that of the control group. The difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The mean height (m) of the 52 volleyball players was measured to be 1.76 ± 0.11. The average height of the control group was measured to be 1.68 ± 0.06. A p-value of 0.007 indicates statistical significance. This indicates that the average height of volleyball players was higher than that of the control group. The BMI (kg/m²) of volleyball players was 24.37 ± 3.01 and that of the control group was 25.57 ± 2.78. Thus, the mean BMI of volleyball players was lower than that of the control group. The p-value of 0.03 indicates that the result was statistically significant.

The lean body mass of volleyball players was greater (54.51 ± 6.23) than that of the control group (48.78 ± 3.86), which was statistically significant < 0.05 (Table 1, Fig. 1).

Comparison of VO2 max between the two groups showed that the average VO2 Max (ml/kg/min) of volleyball players was higher (55.45 ± 4.75) than the control group (42.9 ± 5.57) which was statistically significant (p value 0.01 (Table 1, Fig. 1).

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Discussion

Our study was an observational and comparative study conducted on 104 participants, which included volleyball players and an age-matched control group in the age group of 18–25 years, and their anthropometric measurements, lean body mass, and VO2 max were assessed.

The average weight of the volleyball players was higher 74.74 ± 9.76 kg than the control group 72.12 ± 8.32 kg. The result was statistically not significant which is similar to the findings of Di Vincenzo et al., (2020)& Masanovic et al., (2019). We found the mean height (m) of the volleyball players was greater than 1.76 ± 0.11 than that of the control group 1.68 ± 0.06 which is consistent with the findings of Masanovic et al., (2019) & Bandyopadhyay (2007). The BMI (kg/m²) of volleyball players was lower (24.37 ± 3.0) than that of the control group (25.57 ± 2.78). The p-value of 0.03 indicates that the result is statistically significant. Similar findings were observed by Masanovic et al., (2019) and Bandyopadhyay (2007).

Lean body mass

Volleyball players had a higher lean body mass 54.51 ± 6.23 than that of control group 48.78 ± 3.86 (Table 2, Fig. 2). The p-value of 0.01 shows a statistically significant result. Our findings are similar to findings observed by Bandyopadhyay (2007) and Khanna et al., (2020). Higher lean body mass can improve insulin sensitivity, blood glucose control, and lipid profile and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Table 1. VO2 max (ml/kg/min) of Volleyball player and control group population.

Fig. 1. VO2 max (ml/kg/min) of volleyball player and control group.

Table 2. Lean body mass of volleyball player and control group.

VO2 max

The average VO2 max (ml/kg/min) in volleyball players was measured as 55.45 ± 4.75, while in the control group, it was 42.9 ± 5.57 (Table 1, Fig. 1). The mean VO2 max of volleyball players is higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05) which is consistent with the findings of Bandyopadhyay (2007) and Kausar et al., (2015). With regular training in sport, an increase in VO2 max is found due to an increase in the cardiac output and an increase in arterio-venous oxygen difference (Chamari et al., 2005).

Our study showed that volleyball players had more lean mass, less BMI, and more VO2 max than the control group. We did not find any significant association between lean body mass and VO2 max in both groups, but there was a significant association between BMI and Lean body mass (Fig. 3). In volleyball players, we found a negative correlation between BMI and lean body mass, whereas in the control group, a positive correlation was found. Similar findings were observed by Khanna et al., (2020). Lack of physical activity can increase BMI and decrease lean body mass and VO2 max. Low cardiorespiratory fitness can make individuals more prone to cardiovascular morbidities in later life Khanna et al., (2020). Thus, maintaining BMI in the normal range with physical activity can improve lean body mass and VO2 max.

Improvement in cardiorespiratory parameters not only enhances physical health but also mental health, leading to the alleviation of stress, anxiety, and depression and improves self-esteem.

Our study can help design personalized nutritional plans and exercises and track muscle growth during weight management and training not only for athletes but also for physically inactive populations. Regular Physical activity like involvement in any form of sports, improves endurance as well as cardiorespiratory fitness. This treatment can be beneficial for preventing morbidity and mortality due to non-communicable diseases and improving longevity.

Fig. 2. Lean body mass of volleyball player and control group.

Fig. 3. Association of BMI and lean body mass.

Limitations of the study

The study was conducted only in a specific age group of 18–25 years and did not include volleyball players older than 25 years. It was conducted only for male players and did not include female volleyball players. The study can be conducted with a larger sample size.

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Conclusion

Our results showed that volleyball players had a higher mean weight, height, lean body, and VO2 max compared to the control group. Also, volleyball players had lower BMI compared to the control group, highlighting the positive impact of regular physical activity on cardiovascular fitness and body composition. These findings emphasize the importance of engaging in sports like volleyball to improve overall health and physical performance.

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