Do Canadian collegiate hockey players accurately perceive body composition changes after unmonitored training and diet?

Abstract

Collegiate athletes often use nutritional programs and supplements to elicit body composition changes in muscle or fat. It is unknown if athletes can accurately perceive their fluctuations in body composition, yet their understanding may help them make more accurate interpretations regarding the success of potential nutrition or exercise regimens. The purpose of this study was to investigate if collegiate hockey players could accurately perceive a change in body composition during a 3-month period within their regular season, in which no predetermined nutritional or exercise program was provided. Twenty-four male Canadian collegiate hockey players completed preseason and midseason body composition assessments using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Immediately before the midseason scan, players attempted to accurately match their perceived fluctuation in composition, with predetermined categorical ranges of relative body composition and strength. Two-thirds of players and one-half of players accurately perceived changes in arm-lean and arm-fat tissue, respectively. Approximately two-thirds of players did not accurately perceive gains or losses of lean or fat tissue within their leg and overall body. Although some athletes partially detected changes in the lean and fat tissue of particular regions, the vast majority of players cannot detect the type, or amount of tissue gained and lost across the overall body. Body composition assessments, rather than an athlete's perceptions, should be used to help interpret the success of a sport nutrition or exercise program. Athletes should be aware that physiologic adaptations might take place unnoticed, which could affect the acceptance and adherence of nutrition or exercise interventions.

Longitudinal Physiological and Fitness Evaluations in Elite Ice Hockey: A Systematic Review

“…In 2016, Prokop et al's study included an assessment of male university ice hockey players body composition changes from preseason to midseason using DXA. They reported regional differences in players' fat and lean tissue changes, but globally, players lost a significant amount of body fat tissue from preseason to midseason; this outcome aligns with their similar observation from the previous year (Prokop et al, 2015) (46). Of note, total body lean tissue increased insignificantly, leg lean tissue increased nearly to significance, and there was a significant reduction in arm fat tissue from preseason to midseason.…”

“…Figure 1 summarizes the study selection process. The 23 articles included in this review spanned from 1956 to 2020, with more articles being published in the past 20 years compared with the previous 50 years, possibly signifying an increased interest in elite ice hockey research (1,6,(9)(10)(11)13,16,19,(21)(22)(23)28,29,31,41,44,46,47,50,51,55,56,58). Nine articles included solely physiologic responses, 5 included only body composition metrics, and 3 exclusively investigated histobiochemical changes.…”

“…Although decrements in body composition metrics do not always equate to performance changes, increases in lean body mass and decreases in fat mass have been correlated with more optimal performance in ice hockey players (42). Moreover, although body composition changes may be maladaptive to a player's overall performance, most players fail to perceive these changes (5,46). These factors should be of interest to sport scientists and strength and conditioning coaches because optimizing body composition changes within and across ice hockey seasons may favor optimal player performance.…”

Body Composition Changes after One Year in Professional Male Ice Hockey Players

“…Changes in body composition are difficult to detect without sophisticated instrumentation. In addition, athletes are unable to accurately detect type of tissue when experiencing weight gains or losses [7].…”