Abstract

Background: BMI is commonly used to assess athletes, but its validity is limited by differences in lean mass. Football and volleyball impose distinct physical demands that shape sport-specific body traits, but evidence on BMI differences, especially among South Asian athletes, remains inconsistent. Aim: To examine sport-specific differences in body mass index (BMI) and key anthropometric variables between young adult male football and volleyball players. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study compared 61 male athletes (30 football, 31 volleyball; 19–25 years) from southwestern Bangladesh. Height and weight were measured using standard procedures, and BMI was calculated per WHO criteria. All had ≥2 years of competitive experience and gave written consent. Group differences were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test (p < 0.05). Result: Descriptive analysis of male athletes showed that football players had a mean age of 23.23 ± 1.86 years, height of 1.69 ± 0.02 m, weight of 63.76 ± 4.94 kg, and BMI of 22.28 ± 1.36, while volleyball players had a mean age of 21.87 ± 1.78 years, height of 1.78 ± 0.07 m, weight of 68.41 ± 8.73 kg, and BMI of 21.52 ± 2.21. Significant between-sport differences were observed for age (p = 0.005), height (p = 0.018), and weight (p < 0.001), whereas BMI did not differ significantly (p = 0.104). Conclusion: The findings indicate that football players were generally older, shorter, and lighter than volleyball players, while BMI was similar between the two sports despite distinct body size profiles.