Body composition profile of Brazilian national circus school students

Abstract

Problem Statement. Professional education in circus has been increasing worldwide, placing the training programmes at the center of circus debate. Purpose. Concerning the physical demands of circus students, this research describes the body composition of Brazilian National Circus School students. Approach. Skinfold analyses was used to estimate body fat (%), fat free mass (kg) and body mass index (kg/m-2) in 57 students (n= 30 men, n= 27 women). Results. Men presented higher body weight, height, fat free mass (men 67.2 ± 7.0 kg and 45.7 ± 4.7 kg and for women), body mass index (men 24.1 ±1.6 kg/m2 and women 21.4 ± 2.0 kg/m2) and lower body fat (%) compared to women (men 7.2 ± 3.7 % and women 16.3 ± 3.7). The reassessment showed no differences in body composition for both sexes, a large heterogeneity of interindividual responses was observed (-3.9 to 4.0 for women; -1.5 to 6,5 men). Conclusions. The body fat and body mass index are similar to high performance athletes. No difference was observed between the assessments. The interindividual response to training showed no effect on body fat. However, the interindividual heterogeneity responses suggest adjustments of physical conditioning protocol in order to optimize the responses individually. The 7 or 3 skinfold protocol did not differ on the outcomes. Body composition of circus students’ needs to take into account the circus disciplines, age and biological diversity, and it is a key aspect to monitor training to avoid unsafe situations or unhealthy status. Keywords: performing arts; anthropometry; body mass; physical training.