社会人ラグビーフットボール選手におけるポジション別栄養アセスメント

A rugby football team consists of 15 players: 8 forwards and 7 backs. Rugby football players must improve their performance according to role of their position. The purpose of this study was to assess nutritional status based on body composition and clinical parameters to compare the forward and back positions in rugby football players. Forty-one male amateur rugby football players （23 forwards and 18 backs, age 24±4 years） playing in the Top West A1 league participated in this study. Body composition and circumference were measured in the preseason. The following were significantly higher in forwards than in backs: height; body weight; body fat percentage; lean body mass; visceral fat area（VFA）; and neck, chest, flexed arm, forearm, hip, thigh, and calf circumference. Six forwards and one back had a VFA of over 100 cm^2. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, alanine aminotransferase （ALT）, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase were significantly higher in forwards than in backs. In some forwards, clinical parameters such as triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or ALT were outside the normal range. The result of nutritional assessment based on body composition and these clinical parameters suggests that physical characteristics such as body weight, lean body mass, body fat percentage, and circumference are higher in rugby football forwards compared with backs. However, some players have higher abdominal visceral fat accumulation, indicating higher risk of lifestyle-related diseases, regardless of positions.