Anthropometric profile of brazilian elite female bodybuilders

The purpose of this paper was to analyze the body composition and somatotype of Brazilian elite female bodybuilders who participated of the XXVII Brazilian Bodybuilding Championship. Eleven female athletes (28.7 ± 5.4 years; 55.9 ± 6.8 kg; 161.9 ± 7.2 cm) were studied. Anthropometric measurements of body mass, height, skinfolds, girths, and breadths were collected in the morning of the competition day. The values of the body composition were as follows: percentage of body fat, 8.1 ± 1.0%; lean body mass, 51.4 ± 6.5 kg; arm muscle area, 52.98 ± 12.18 cm2 The medium somatotype of the athletes was: endomorphy, 1.59 ± 0.53; mesomorphy, 4.45 ± 0.98; ectomorphy, 2.50 ± 0.80. The bodybuilders showed low deposits of body fat and a good muscular structure, evidenced by the prevalence of the mesomorphic component. The accumulation of fat was prevalent on the region of the thigh. These results suggest that the elite female bodybuilders have reached a high degree of muscular definition, similar or slightly lower than that of male competitors, associated to the high levels of muscularity, proportionality and symmetry