The aim of this study was to examine body fat of elite Spanish soccer referees and assistant referees by division, role and age group. Participants were 243 males (age 32.4 +/- 5.3 years, weight 72.3 +/- 6.2 kg, height 179.1 +/- 5.9 cm and body mass index 22.5 +/- 1.4) who belonged to the Referees Technical Committee of the Royal Spanish Soccer Federation. A portable bioelectrical impedance analyser TANITA BC 418-MA was used to estimate the percentage of body fat (%BF). In the first analysis, they were classified by division and role: 158 elite Spanish league referees (n = 20 first-division referees; n = 22 second-division referees and n = 116 second-B-division referees) and 85 elite Spanish league assistant referees (n = 40 first-division assistant referees and n = 45 second-division assistant referees). In the second analysis, they were divided into three age groups as previously described by Castagna: young (Y, 27-32 years, n = 144), average (A, 33-38 years, n = 66) and senior (S, 39-45 years, n = 33). Analysing by division and role, the first-division referees were the oldest and the second-B-division referees were the youngest. First- and second-B-division referees had lower total %BF than first- and second-division assistant referees (9.6% and 9.8% vs 12.8% and 12.0%, p < 0.05). Comparing by age group, Y group had lower %BF than A and S groups (10.2% vs 11.4% and 12%, p < 0.05), but no differences were found between A and S groups. These results showed that first- and second-B-division referees presented more healthy values of %BF than first- and second-division assistants. By age group, Y group had the lowest %BF.
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