Site-specific associations of muscle thickness with bone mineral density in middle-aged and older men and women

Sex segregation in strength sports: Do equal-sized muscles express the same levels of strength between sexes?

OBJECTIVES

Concerns have been raised against the current two-sex binary category in sports competitions. The thesis states that if males and females were separated based on muscle size, it would negate the strength advantage between the sexes. We tested the possible sex differences in various strength outcomes when pair-matched for muscle thickness.

METHODS

A total of 16 different data sets (n = 963) were assessed to pair-match females with males who had a muscle thickness value within 2%. We further compared the competition performances of the smallest male weight class within the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) to different weight classes in females.

RESULTS

Overall, 76%-88% of the strength assessments were greater in males than females with pair-matched muscle thickness, regardless of contraction types (i.e., isotonic, isometric, isokinetic). Additionally, males in the lightest weight division in the IPF largely outperformed females in heavier weight divisions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results would suggest that segregation based on muscle mass or surrogates of muscle mass (e.g., lean body mass) might not be an appropriate classification to create fair competition within strength sports. This is not to refute the concept of the desegregation of the two-sex binary category but to present data that raises important concerns about the potential sex-based differences in strength performance.

Estimating thigh skeletal muscle volume using multi-frequency segmental-bioelectrical impedance analysis

Background

The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether using the extracellular water/intracellular water (ECW/ICW) index and phase angle combined with segmental-bioimpedance analysis (BIA) improved the model fitting of skeletal muscle volume (SMV) estimation. The secondary aim was to compare the accuracy of segmental-BIA with that of ultrasound for estimating the quadriceps SMV measured with MRI.

Methods

Seventeen young men (mean age, 23.8 ± 3.3 years) participated in the study. The T-1 weighted images of thigh muscles were obtained using a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Thigh and quadriceps SMVs were calculated as the sum of the products of anatomical cross-sectional area and slice thickness of 6 mm across all slices. Segmental-BIA was applied to the thigh region, and data on the 50-kHz bioelectrical impedance (BI) index, ICW index, ECW/ICW index, and phase angle were obtained. The muscle thickness index was calculated as the product of the mid-thigh muscle thickness, determined using ultrasound, and thigh length. The standard error of estimate (SEE) of the regression equation was calculated to determine the model fitting of SMV estimation and converted to %SEE by dividing the SEE values by the mean SMV.

Results

Multiple regression analysis indicated that the combination of 50-kHz BI and the ECW/ICW index or phase angle was a significant predictor when estimating thigh SMV (SEE = 7.9 and 8.1%, respectively), but were lower than the simple linear regression (SEE = 9.4%). The ICW index alone improved the model fitting for the estimation equation (SEE = 7.6%). The model fitting of the quadriceps SMV with the 50-kHz BI or ICW index was similar to that with the skeletal muscle thickness index measured using ultrasound (SEE = 10.8, 9.6 and 9.7%, respectively).

Conclusions

Combining the traditionally used 50-kHz BI index with the ECW/ICW index and phase angle can improve the model fitting of estimated SMV measured with MRI. We also showed that the model suitability of SMV estimation using segmental-BIA was equivalent to that on using ultrasound. These data indicate that segmental-BIA may be a useful and cost-effective alternative to the gold standard MRI for estimating SMV.