Phase Angle Is Related to 10 m and 30 m Sprint Time and Repeated-Sprint Ability in Young Male Soccer Players

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between phase angle (PhA) and bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) and components of physical performance in male youth soccer players. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: Sixty-two players from two professional soccer academies were recruited. Electrical bioimpedance was used to obtain the PhA and BIVA. Body fat (BF) and lean soft tissue mass (LSTM) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. All players completed physical tests including the standing long jump (SLJ), Carminatti’s test (peak speed at the end of the test, PST-CAR), 10 m and 30 m straight-line sprints, and repeated-sprint ability (RSA) test (RSAbest and RSAmean times). Results: Adjusting for chronological age, BF, and LSTM, multiple regression analysis outputs showed that PhA remained inversely related to RSAmean (β = −0.362; p < 0.001), RSAbest (β = −0.239; p = 0.020), 10 m (β = −0.379; p = 0.012), and 30 m (β = −0.438; p < 0.001) sprint times, while the association with PST-CAR and SLJ performance were statistically non-significant. In addition, BIVA showed that differences in confidence ellipses were found between athletes in the reference population and the study sample (p < 0.05). The tolerance ellipses indicated that the athletes in the present study had more total body water (TCW) and lower proportions of intracellular water (ICW) to extracellular water (ECW). The reference population had more TCW and ICW/ECW. Conclusions: Our results suggest that young soccer players with higher PhA values, indicating better cell integrity and functionality, have better performance in typical anaerobic running activities, such as sprinting speed and RSA performance, adjusted to age and body composition characteristics.