Sex-Based Analysis of Body Components in Elite First-League Handball Players

Elit Birinci Lig Hentbol Oyuncularında Vücut Bileşenlerinin Cinsiyete Göre Analizi

Sercan Öncen¹ Serkan Aydın²

*Correspondence: Serkan Aydın saydin@nku.edu.tr

¹Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University Faculty of Sport Sciences, Orcid: 0000-0001-6147-2966
²Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University Faculty of Sport Sciences, saydin@nku.edu.tr Orcid: 0000-0003-3618-8028

Doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17429360

https://www.ijoss.org/Archive/issue2-volume3/ijoss-Volume2-issue3-18.pdf

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Received / Gönderim: 05.09.2025 Accepted / Kabul: 15.10.2025 Published / Yayın: 24.10.2025

Abstract

The effects of sex differences in body components have been researched for years by the scientists. The purpose of this research was to examine the sex-based analysis of body components in elite first-league handball players. 28 participants were included in the study. Participants were divided into two different groups according to sex. Female group (n: 10; 24.57±5.44 years, 170.40±4.96 cm, 66.19±5.52 kg, 22.79±1.63 kg/m2) and male group (n:18; 25.67±4.51 years, 191.38±6.85 cm, 102.00±14.99 kg, 22.78±3.33 kg/m2). In this research study body components of the participants such as body fat, protein, mineral, muscle mass and basal metabolic rate were measured by Tanita TBF-300 body composition analyser. The collected data were analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 24 software package. Variable distributions were examined based on sex. To assess the normality of the data and the homogeneity of variances, the Shapiro-Wilk test was employed. Descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests were used to compare the participants’ data, with the significance level. There was a high significant difference in body water (p=0.00**; t=-11.54), protein (p=0.00**; t=-11.83), mineral (p=0.00**; t=-10.36), core muscle mass (p=0.00**; t=-11.93) and basal metabolic rate (p=0.00**; t=-11.93) in favour of male group. It was observed that data of the male group was higher than the female group for each body components. There was no significant difference in body fat mass values (p=0.88; t=-0.10). In conclusion, it was observed that sex have effects on body components of professional league handball players. It can be said that male handball players have high levels of body components such as body fat, protein, mineral, muscle mass and basal metabolic rate according to female players. Further research is also needed to assess the body components of professional players.

Keywords Body Components, Body Fat, Mineral, Muscle Mass, Protein.

Öz

Cinsiyet farklılıklarının vücut bileşenleri üzerindeki etkileri, bilim adamları tarafından yıllardır araştırılmaktadır. Bu araştırmanın amacı, birinci lig elit hentbolcularında cinsiyete dayalı vücut bileşenleri analizini incelemektir. Araştırmaya 28 katılımcı dahil edilmiştir. Katılımcılar cinsiyete göre iki farklı gruba ayrılmıştır. Kadın grubu (n: 10; 24,57±5,44 yaş, 170,40±4,96 cm, 66,19±5,52 kg, 22,79±1,63 kg/m2) ve erkek grubu (n:18; 25,67±4,51 yaş, 191,38±6,85 cm, 102,00±14,99 kg, 22,78±3,33 kg/m2). Bu araştırma çalışmasında, katılımcıların vücut yağı, protein, mineral, kas kütlesi ve bazal metabolizma hızı gibi vücut bileşenleri Tanita TBF-300 vücut kompozisyon analizörü ile ölçülmüştür. Toplanan veriler IBM SPSS Statistics 24 yazılım paketi kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Değişken dağılımları cinsiyete göre incelenmiştir. Verilerin normalliği ve varyansların homojenliği değerlendirmek için Shapiro-Wilk testi kullanılmıştır. Katılımcıların verilerini karşılaştırmak için tanımlayıcı istatistikler ve bağımsız örneklem t-testleri kullanılmıştır. Vücut suyu (p=0,00**; t=-11,54), protein (p=0,00**; t=-11,83), mineral (p=0,00**; t=-10,36), çekirdek kas kütlesi (p=0,00**; t=-11,93) ve bazal metabolizma hızı (p=0,00**; t=-11,93) açısından erkek grubu lehine yüksek anlamlı bir fark gözlenmiştir. Erkek grubunun verilerinin her bir vücut bileşeni için kadın grubundan daha yüksek olduğu gözlenmiştir. Vücut yağ kütlesi değerlerinde anlamlı bir fark gözlenmemiştir (p=0,88; t=-0,10). Sonuç olarak, cinsiyetin profesyonel lig hentbolcularının vücut bileşenleri üzerinde etkisi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Erkek hentbolcuların kadın oyunculara göre vücut yağ, protein, mineral, kas kütlesi ve bazal metabolizma hızı gibi vücut bileşenleri açısından daha yüksek seviyelere sahip olduğu söylenebilir. Profesyonel oyuncuların vücut bileşenlerini değerlendirmek için daha fazla araştırma yapılması gerekmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Vücut Bileşenleri, Vücut Yağı, Mineral, Kas Kütlesi, Protein.

APA 7 Citation

Öncen, S., & Aydın, S. (2025). Sex-based analysis of body components in elite first-league handball players. International Journal of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences (IJOSS), 2(3), 219–226. https://www.ijoss.org/Archive/issue2-volume3/ijoss-Volume2-issue3-18.pdf
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17429360

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