Load assignment of wingate test in minor overfat young adults - is counting the fat mass a pitfall?

It was wondered if the counting of fat mass (FM) in the workload of Wingate test (WAnT) of 75g.kg^-1 total body mass (TBM) would invalidate the test on evaluating leg anaerobic power in minor overfat young adults. This study examined the hypothesis that the neglect of FM in the WAnT workload assignment would improve the peak power (PP), mean power (MP) and fatigue index (FI) in minor overfat subjects. In this study, we found in 16 male and female young adults with normal percent body fat (%BF) that the WAnT workloads of 86 g.kg^-1 and 95 g.kg^-1 fat free mass, respectively, could develop the PP, MP and FI equivalent to those obtained from the original workload of 75 g.kg^-1 TBM. When these new workloads were applied to 18 male and 15 female subjects with a little above-normal %BF, the PP and MP, but not the FI, were declined from the original values (p<0.05). The declines were positively correlated to their %BF (p<0.05). Such findings do not support our hypothesis. The findings show that the neglect of FM in the WAnT workload assignment lessens the maximum anaerobic power output of the minor overfat subjects. It further suggests that the counting of FM in the traditional WAnT workload of 75 g.kg^-1 TBM may not impair their maximum performance. However, the interpretation of lack of negative influence of FM on the WAnT performance in minor overfat young adults should be made with caution.