Somatotype analysis and the association between body fat percentage, aerobic and anaerobic performances in Silat Olahraga athletes

The unique nature of Silat Olahraga as a sport demand the development of both aerobic and anaerobic fitness. There is interconnection of these fitness components with individuals’ body composition. The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence of somatotype and examine the relationship between body fat percentage towards aerobic and anaerobic performances among Silat Olahraga athletes. Thirty-three (n=33) well-trained male athletes from UiTM Negeri Sembilan, SUKMA Negeri Sembilan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia (UTEM) and SUKMA Melaka were participated in this study. Body composition tests consisted of skinfold measurement, weight, height, girth measurement, and bone breadth were used to measure body fat percentage and somatotype. Aerobic test was conducted by using 20m multistage fitness test and anaerobic test was conducted by using running anaerobic sprint test (RAST). The data were analysed using frequency test and Pearson correlation test. The findings demonstrated that the body fat percentage was significantly correlated with aerobic VO2max performance (p=0.001, r=-0.568), peak anaerobic power (p=0.002, r=0.519) and average anaerobic power (p=0.003, r=0.504). However, no significant relationship was found with fatigue index (p>0.05). Findings of the present study also showed that 15.2% of the Silat athletes were endomorph, 66.7% were mesomorph and 18.2% were ectomorph. This study confirmed that there was a significant relationship between body fat percentage on aerobic and anaerobic performances. Most of the athletes in this study were mesomorphs.