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Journals / Herkes için Spor ve Rekreasyon Dergisi / 2026 / Volume: 8 Issue: 2

Body Composition and Aerobic Capacity in Combat Sports Athletes: A Gender Comparison and an Investigation of The Relationship

Dövüş Sporcularında Vücut Kompozisyonu ve Aerobik Kapasite: Cinsiyet Karşılaştırması ve İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Gizem Akarsu Taşman(MERSIN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS)0000-0002-5027-2050
Erkan Güven(MERSİN ÜNİVERSİTESİ, SPOR BİLİMLERİ FAKÜLTESİ)0000-0002-9033-5968
Pages
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Publication Date
2026-06-30
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The results indicate that body composition is an important fac-tor in determining aerobic capacity, particularly that body fat percentage has a strong ef-fect on VO₂max.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The aim of this study is to compare aerobic capacity and body composition variables ac-cording to gender in combat sports athletes and to examine the relationship between body composition and VO₂max.
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Key Findings & Data:The study included 72 active combat sports athletes (kickbox-ing, Muay Thai, boxing) from the province of Mersin, comprising 37 women and 35 men.
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Conclusion & Impact:The results indicate that body composition is an important fac-tor in determining aerobic capacity, particularly that body fat percentage has a strong ef-fect on VO₂max.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Combat sports · VO₂max · Body composition

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare aerobic capacity and body composition variables ac-cording to gender in combat sports athletes and to examine the relationship between body composition and VO₂max. The study included 72 active combat sports athletes (kickbox-ing, Muay Thai, boxing) from the province of Mersin, comprising 37 women and 35 men. Participants underwent anthropometric measurements and the Yo-Yo endurance test. Men’s VO₂max values (53.12 ± 6.34 ml/kg/min) were found to be significantly higher than women’s (41.57 ± 1.17 ml/kg/min) (p<0.05). Women had a higher body fat percentage than men, while men had a higher percentage of muscle mass than women. A strong negative correlation (r = −0.67) was found between VO₂max and body fat percentage, and a weak positive correlation (r = 0.27) between VO₂max and muscle mass; no significant relation-ship was found with BMI. The results indicate that body composition is an important fac-tor in determining aerobic capacity, particularly that body fat percentage has a strong ef-fect on VO₂max. It can be concluded that BMI is a limited indicator of aerobic performance in this population.

Özet

Bu çalışmanın amacı, dövüş sporları sporcularında cinsiyete göre aerobik kapasite ve vücut kompozisyonu değişkenlerini karşılaştırmak ve vücut kompozisyonu ile VO₂max arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir. Çalışmaya Mersin ilinden 37 kadın ve 35 erkek olmak üzere 72 aktif dövüş sporları sporcusu (kickboks, Muay Thai, boks) dahil edilmiştir. Katılımcılara antropometrik ölçümler ve Yo-Yo dayanıklılık testi uygulanmıştır. Erkeklerin VO₂max değerlerinin (53,12 ± 6,34 ml/kg/dk) kadınlarınkinden (41,57 ± 1,17 ml/kg/dk) anlamlı derecede yüksek olduğu bulunmuştur (p<0,05). Kadınların vücut yağ oranı erkeklerden daha yüksekken, erkeklerin kas kütlesi oranı kadınlardan daha yüksek bulunmuştur. VO₂max ile vücut yağ yüzdesi arasında güçlü bir negatif korelasyon (r = −0,67) ve VO₂max ile kas kütlesi arasında zayıf bir pozitif korelasyon (r = 0,27) bulunmuştur; BMI ile anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmamıştır. Sonuçlar, vücut kompozisyonunun aerobik kapasiteyi belirlemede önemli bir faktör olduğunu, özellikle vücut yağ yüzdesinin VO₂max üzerinde güçlü bir etkiye sahip olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu popülasyonda BMI'nin aerobik performansın sınırlı bir göstergesi olduğu sonucuna varılabilir.

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Cite This Article

Taşman, G. A., Güven, E. (2026). Body Composition and Aerobic Capacity in Combat Sports Athletes: A Gender Comparison and an Investigation of The Relationship. Herkes için Spor ve Rekreasyon Dergisi, Volume: 8 Issue: 2. https://doi.org/10.56639/jsar.1931511

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