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Article

DXA-Measured Total and Regional Body Composition in Female Athletes with a Physical Impairment

by
Valentina Cavedon
1,*,
Ilaria Peluso
2,
Elisabetta Toti
2,
Marco Sandri
3,
Anna Pedrinolla
4,
Carlo Zancanaro
1 and
Chiara Milanese
1
1
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
2
Research Centre for Food and Nutrition (CREA-AN), 00178 Rome, Italy
3
Big & Open Data Innovation Laboratory (BODaI-Lab), University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
4
Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology—CIBIO, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10010049
Submission received: 25 November 2024 / Revised: 11 January 2025 / Accepted: 23 January 2025 / Published: 28 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sports Nutrition and Body Composition)
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Abstract

Background/Objectives: In recent years, awareness has been growing regarding the needs of female athletes with physical impairments. Despite the importance from both health and performance perspectives of assessing body composition in this athletic population, there is limited literature focusing on this topic. This study explored whole-body and regional three-compartment body composition in female athletes with a physical impairment to assess the impact of impairment and sex on body composition parameters in this population. Methods: Twenty female athletes with a physical impairment were pair-matched by age with an able-bodied female athlete and a male athlete with a comparable physical impairment. All athletes underwent whole-body scanning with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: Female athletes with physical impairments showed body composition changes including higher amounts of fat mass, particularly in the lower body regions. Among athletes with a physical impairment, sex showed an independent effect on whole-body composition, with females showing higher fat mass and lower lean mass and bone mineral content compared with males, especially in the legs. Conclusions: Female athletes with physical impairments had a distinct body composition profile, characterized by sex-specific distribution of body tissue at the regional level. Nutritional and training strategies aimed at optimizing body composition in female athletes with physical impairments should be specifically tailored to meet the needs of this athletic population.
Keywords: paralympic athletes; fat mass; lean mass; bone mineral content; spinal cord injury; amputation; low energy availability paralympic athletes; fat mass; lean mass; bone mineral content; spinal cord injury; amputation; low energy availability
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MDPI and ACS Style

Cavedon, V.; Peluso, I.; Toti, E.; Sandri, M.; Pedrinolla, A.; Zancanaro, C.; Milanese, C. DXA-Measured Total and Regional Body Composition in Female Athletes with a Physical Impairment. J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10, 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10010049

AMA Style

Cavedon V, Peluso I, Toti E, Sandri M, Pedrinolla A, Zancanaro C, Milanese C. DXA-Measured Total and Regional Body Composition in Female Athletes with a Physical Impairment. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology. 2025; 10(1):49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10010049

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cavedon, Valentina, Ilaria Peluso, Elisabetta Toti, Marco Sandri, Anna Pedrinolla, Carlo Zancanaro, and Chiara Milanese. 2025. "DXA-Measured Total and Regional Body Composition in Female Athletes with a Physical Impairment" Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology 10, no. 1: 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10010049

APA Style

Cavedon, V., Peluso, I., Toti, E., Sandri, M., Pedrinolla, A., Zancanaro, C., & Milanese, C. (2025). DXA-Measured Total and Regional Body Composition in Female Athletes with a Physical Impairment. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 10(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10010049

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