Anthropometric Profile of Elite Chilean Paralympic Athletes [Perfil Antropométrico de Deportistas Paralímpicos de Élite Chilenos]

Introduction: Sport is one of the most popular social events worldwide. It becomes interesting to characterize its practitioners, even more in some poorly studied groups such as Paralympic athletes. The main objective of this study is to determine the anthropometric profile of Chilean Elite Paralympic Athletes (CEPA) through body composition and somatotype. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 41 subjects (93%) of the classified to the Para-Panamerican Games Toronto 2015, who practiced table tennis (n=6), football 5 (n=11), swimming (n=8), rugby (n=7), powerlifting (n=6) and wheelchair tennis (n=3). The body composition and somatotype were assessed through the protocol described by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Results: The CEPA reach an average for that classifies somatotype mostly as meso-endomorphic (5.3-7.8-0.5), a BMI of 27.4 kg/m2, and body composition for fat mass reaches 29.8% in women and 25.7% in men, while muscle mass gain 42.6% (women) and 44.5% (men). Conclusions: The CEPA have a somatotype profile that classifies mostly as meso-endomorphic, body composition has a predominance muscle mass and high fat mass, although is similar to other Paralympics athletes.