Relationship between Biological Maturation, Physical Fitness, and Kinanthropometric Variables of Young Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

There is a growing interest in knowing the relationship between biological maturation and sport performance-related variables of young athletes. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between biological maturation, physical fitness, and kinanthropometric variables of athletes during their growing period, according to their sex. The systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement and the search protocol was registered in PROSPERO, code: CRD42020208397. A search through the PubMed, Web of Sciences, and EBSCO databases was performed. A total of 423 studies were screened and 13 were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis was completed by using the mean and standard deviation of each variable according to each maturation status (early, on time, or late). Differences depending on maturation were found on physical fitness, with better results in the advanced maturational groups in the male population (standard mean difference (SMD) = 0.17–2.31; p < 0.001–0.05). Differences depending on maturation were found for kinanthropometric variables in males (SMD = 0.37–2.31; p < 0.001–0.002) and height and body mass in females (SMD = 0.96–1.19; p < 0.001). In conclusion, the early maturation group showed higher values in kinanthropometric variables and better results in physical fitness, highlighting the importance of the maturational process in the talent selection programs. Despite that, more research is needed to clarify the relationship of maturation with the other variables on female populations and the changes in the muscle and bone variables during the maturation processes of both sexes.

Talent Selection Based on Sport-Specific Tasks Is Affected by the Relative Age Effects among Adolescent Handball Players

“…The differences between chronological age and bone age suggest an advanced maturity at the top selection level with a larger effect size in male (1.8 years) vs. female (0.9 years) players. This is a well-known phenomenon in youth sport [ 36 ] and again emphasizes the advantage of early maturity during the selection. It is noteworthy that, despite the differences in relative age, the bone age did not differ between the semester groups except in a very few cases in the S4 group for girls.…”

The Effect of Age, Biological Maturation and Birth Quartile in the Kinanthropometric and Physical Fitness Differences between Male and Female Adolescent Volleyball Players

“…The present study is not free of limitations. Among the most important limitations are the descriptive and cross-sectional nature of the study, a relatively small sample size, the age of the participants, which together with the design of the study does not allow us to analyze the evolution of the phenomenon studied throughout the entire maturation stage, and the method of estimating biological maturation, which although it is a widely used method in sports science [ 8 ], is not the hand and wrist X-ray, considered the gold standard for the calculation of the maturity offset [ 9 ]. Future research could evaluate the influence of age, biological maturation, and birth quartile on the differences between boys and girls in kinanthropometric and physical fitness variables in volleyball from the age of sports initiation to advanced stages of adolescence, using longitudinal designs, with a larger sample, to know the evolution of the differences throughout the growth stage.…”

“…However, this characterization of the requirements of athletes during puberty must be undertaken with caution due to the effect that biological maturation has been shown to have on kinanthropometric and physical fitness variables [ 7 , 8 ]. More specifically, there is evidence of the different rates of maturation experienced by adolescents during the process, with these differences affecting the physical manifestation of the changes inherent to adolescence [ 9 , 10 ].…”

“…More specifically, there is evidence of the different rates of maturation experienced by adolescents during the process, with these differences affecting the physical manifestation of the changes inherent to adolescence [ 9 , 10 ]. In relation to sports performance, higher values in kinanthropometric variables and better results in the physical fitness test have been observed in those subjects who mature earlier, compared to those who mature later [ 8 ]. This could be a disadvantage for subjects who mature late, due to the traditional way of organizing sports competitions in training stages using gender and chronological age as the only criteria [ 11 ].…”

Strength and VO2max Changes by Exercise Training According to Maturation State in Children

“…Pullen et al (2022) found a relationship of change in maturity with standing long jump performance in girls [ 27 ]; Živković et al (2022) found that a significant interaction of gender and biological maturity was noted for countermovement jump [ 28 ]; and in Albaladejo-Saura (2022) as a maturity compensation difference between the genders of adolescent volleyball players related to the physical capacities of power and strength in boys and flexibility in adolescent girls [ 29 ]. Likewise, in a meta-analysis carried out by Albaladejo-Saura et al [ 30 ] that included 13 studies, early maturers had higher physical fitness.…”