{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]],"date-time":"2026-04-15T20:28:37Z","timestamp":1776284917412,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,6]],"date-time":"2020-06-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1591401600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JFMK"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Soccer referees are a specific group in the sports population that are receiving increasing attention from sports scientists. A lower fat mass percentage (FM%) is a useful parameter to monitor fitness status and aerobic performance, while being able to evaluate it with a simple and quick field-based method can allow a regular assessment. The aim of this study was to provide a specific profile for referees based on morphological and body composition features while comparing the accuracy of different skinfold-based equations in estimating FM% in a cohort of soccer referees. Forty-three elite international soccer referees (age 38.8 \u00b1 3.6 years), who participated in the 2018 Russian World Cup, underwent body composition assessments with skinfold thickness and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Six equations used to derive FM% from skinfold thickness were compared with DXA measurements. The percentage of body fat estimated using DXA was 18.2 \u00b1 4.1%, whereas skinfold-based FM% assessed from the six formulas ranged between 11.0% \u00b1 1.7% to 15.6% \u00b1 2.4%. Among the six equations considered, the Faulkner\u2019s formula showed the highest correlation with FM% estimated by DXA (r = 0.77; R2 = 0.59 p &lt; 0.001). Additionally, a new skinfold-based equation was developed: FM% = 8.386 + (0.478 \u00d7 iliac crest skinfold) + (0.395 \u00d7 abdominal skinfold, r = 0.78; R2 = 0.61; standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 2.62 %; p &lt; 0.001). Due to these findings, national and international federations will now be able to perform regular body composition assessments using skinfold measurements.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jfmk5020038","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]],"date-time":"2020-06-09T04:19:39Z","timestamp":1591676379000},"page":"38","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Body Fat Assessment in International Elite Soccer Referees"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"5","author":[{"given":"Cristian","family":"Petri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports and Exercise Medicine Unit, Clinical and Experimental Department, University of Florence, 50121 Firenze, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3028-7802","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Campa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, 47921 Rimini, Italy"}]},{"given":"Vitor","family":"Hugo Teixeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences (FCNA), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sports, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Pascal","family":"Izzicupo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Aging Science, \u201cG. D\u2019Annunzio\u201d University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2054-8650","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giorgio","family":"Galanti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports and Exercise Medicine Unit, Clinical and Experimental Department, University of Florence, 50121 Firenze, Italy"}]},{"given":"Angelo","family":"Pizzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"A.I.A., Italian Referees Association, 00187 Rome, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4100-8765","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georgian","family":"Badicu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education and Special Motricity, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500068 Brasov, Romania"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8842-0354","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriele","family":"Mascherini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports and Exercise Medicine Unit, Clinical and Experimental Department, University of Florence, 50121 Firenze, Italy"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2019, March 14). 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