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Performance trends in 3000m open water age group swimmers from 25-89 years competing in the FINA World Championships from 1992 to 2014
Abstract
We investigated trends in participation, performance and sex difference in performance in 3000 m freestyle in age groups swimmers (25–29 to 85–89 years) competing in the Fédération Internationale de Natation World Masters Championships between 1992 and 2014. During this period, participation increased in women and men. Women and men improved race times across years in all age groups. Women were slower in age groups 25–29 to 70–74 years. In age groups 75–79 and 85–89 years, however, race times were similar for both women and men. Sex difference in performance remained unchanged across years. In summary, performance improved across years in all age groups, men were faster than women up to the age group 70–74 years and women were not able to reduce the sex difference in performance to men across years. For athletes and coaches, an increase in participation and a continuous improvement in performance can be expected in these age group athletes.
... Generally, males are faster than females in endurance disciplines [1,11]. This has been reported for swimming [12][13][14], cycling [15,16], and running [17,18]. However, females were able to achieve a similar or even better performance than males in specific situations. ...
... However, females were able to achieve a similar or even better performance than males in specific situations. Recent studies reported that females reduced the gap to males in swimming [7, 12,19] and cycling [9,20]. For long-distance swimming, it has been described that females can achieve similar performance to males [12,21,22]. ...
... Recent studies reported that females reduced the gap to males in swimming [7, 12,19] and cycling [9,20]. For long-distance swimming, it has been described that females can achieve similar performance to males [12,21,22]. Under certain circumstances, females in long-distance open-water swimming are even faster than males [23]. ...
Background
The sex difference in the three split disciplines (swimming, cycling, and running) and overall race times in triathlon races has mainly been investigated for the Olympic distance and IRONMAN® triathlon formats, but not for the half IRONMAN® distance, i.e., the IRONMAN® 70.3. The aim of the present study was to investigate the sex differences in IRONMAN® 70.3 by age group in 5-year intervals for the split disciplines of this race. Data from 823,459 records (625,393 males and 198,066 females) of all age group finishers (in 5-year intervals) competing in all official IRONMAN® 70.3 races held worldwide between 2004 and 2020 were analyzed, and sex differences by age group and split disciplines were evaluated.
Results
Males were faster than females in all split disciplines and all age groups. The sex difference was lower in swimming than in cycling and running and less pronounced for triathletes between 20 and 50 years of age. After the age of 60 years, females were able to reduce the sex difference to males in swimming and cycling, but not in running, where the reduction in the sex difference started after the age of 70 years. The lowest sex difference was in the age group 75 + years for swimming and cycling and in the age group 30–34 years for running. Across age groups, the sex difference was U-shaped in swimming and running, with an increase after 18–24 years in swimming and after 40–44 years in running. In contrast, the sex difference decreased continuously with the increasing age for cycling.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the study found that the sex difference in performance decreases with age in the IRONMAN® 70.3 race distance. However, females did not outperform males at older ages. Notably, sex differences were observed across different disciplines, with swimming displaying lower differences compared to cycling and running. These findings underscore the complex interplay between age, sex, and performance in endurance sports, emphasizing the need for additional research to understand the factors influencing these differences.
... Indoor-swimming events with a defined time limit (i.e., 12 h) are also held [13]. In open-water swimming, master swimmers most often compete in 3000 m [14], whereas 5 km [6,10], 10 km [10,15] and 25 km [10,15] races were held for elite swimmers. Open-water swimming events of different lengths in lakes and seas are held as solo swims [7]. ...
... Open-water swimming is also held for master swimmers competing in 3000 m. In master swimmers competing at the FINA World Championships, men were faster than women for all age groups except age groups 75-79, 80-84 and 85-89 years where women achieved the same performance like men [14]. Not only the age, but also the distance may be of importance. ...
... An analysis of sex differences in swimming speed for the top-10 World ranking (i.e.,1st-10th place), age group (25-89 years), and event distance from the world's top ten swimming times of both women and men in the World Championships showed that the sex difference in swimming speed increased with world record place and age [42]. Very recent studies investigated the performance trends and sex difference in swimming performance in master swimmers competing in the FINA World Championships in pool-swimming in freestyle [4], in backstroke [2], in butterfly [1], in breaststroke [3], in individual medley [11] in 3000-m open-water swimming [14] and for youth swimmers [43]. In butterfly [1], in breaststroke [3], in backstroke [2], in freestyle [4] and in individual medley [11], women were able to reduce the gap to men in different age groups. ...
In recent years, the interest of female dominance in long-distance swimming grew where several newspaper articles were published speculating about the female performance and dominance especially in open-water ultra-distance swimming. The aim of this narrative review was to review the scientific literature regarding the difference between the sexes for all swimming strokes (i.e., butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley), different distances (i.e., from sprint to ultra-distances), extreme conditions (i.e., cold water), different ages, and swimming integrated in multi-sports disciplines, such as triathlon, in various age groups and over calendar years. The influence of various physiological, psychological, anthropometrical and biomechanical aspects to potentially explain the female dominance was also discussed. The data bases Scopus and PUBMED were searched by April 2020 for the terms ‘sex – difference – swimming’. Long-distance open-water swimmers and pool swimmers of different ages and performance levels were mainly investigated. In open-water long-distance swimming events of the 'Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming' with the 'Catalina Channel Swim', the 'English Channel Swim' and the 'Manhattan Island Marathon Swim', women were about 0.06 km/h faster than men. In master swimmers (i.e., age groups 25-29 to 90-94 years) competing in the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Championships in pool swimming in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and in 3000 m open-water swimming, women master swimmers seemed able to achieve a similar performance as men in the oldest age groups (i.e., older than 75-80 years). In boys and girls aged 5-18 years and listed in the all-time top 100 U.S. freestyle swimming performances from 50 m to 1500 m, the five fastest girls were faster until the age of ~10 years than the five fastest boys. After the age of 10 years until the age of 17 years, however, boys were increasingly faster than girls. Therefore, women tended to decrease the existing sex differences in specific age groups (i.e., younger than 10 years and older than 75-80 years) and swimming strokes in pool-swimming or even to overperform men in long-distance open-water swimming (distance of ~30 km), especially under extreme weather conditions (water colder than ~20 °C). Two main variables may explain why women can swim faster than men in open-water swimming events: (i) the long distance of around 30 km, (ii) and water colder than ~20 °C. Future studies might investigate more detailed (e.g. anthropometry) the very young (<10 years) and very old (>75-80 years) age groups in swimming.
Keywords: gender difference; sex gap; swimming performance; swimming stroke; holistic approach
... Moreover, younger swimmers were faster than older swimmers in the 3000 m open-water swim. 12 It has been shown that wearing a wetsuit increased performance by increasing buoyancy and that leaner subjects benefit more from wearing a wetsuit than fatter subjects. 3 Increased buoyancy reduces the energetic demands of maintaining the horizontal position, and this economy is invested in reinforcing propulsive actions. ...
... 11 Moreover, inferences should be drawn with caution from studies in triathletes to swimmers, as it has been suggested that wearing a wetsuit relates differently to stroke characteristics and performance among these two groups of athletes. 15 The aspect of performance Males were faster than females (i.e., a trivial difference in swimming times between the sexes), which was in agreement with the findings of recent studies on 3000 m open-water, 12 freestyle, 16 and breaststroke 17 swimmers. This observation should be attributed to anthropometric and physiological sex differences. ...
... It was well known that younger swimmers were faster than older freestyle, 16 breaststroke, 17 and open-water swimmers. 12 The use of wetsuits improves performance more for inefficient swimmers swimming at low speeds, 6,22 and, therefore, especially older and weaker swimmers might benefit from wearing a wetsuit. ...
Aim
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of wearing a wetsuit with sex, age group, nationality, calendar year, and performance in crossing the “Strait of Gibraltar”(14.3 km).
Materials and methods
A sample of 1,130 open-water (females, n=180, age 35.9±11.9 years; males, n=950, age 40.0±10.2 years) ultra-distance swimmers crossing the “Strait of Gibraltar” since 1950 was analyzed.
Results
Male, older, and Spanish swimmers used wetsuits more often than female, younger, and athletes of other nationalities, respectively, and the use of the wetsuit has increased during the past three decades. Swimmers with wetsuits were faster than those without. Male athletes aged 30–34 years were faster than athletes >60 years. Female athletes were younger than male athletes, and swimmers with wetsuits were older than those without. The Spanish were faster than the American swimmers and athletes from other nationalities, and the American swimmers were the oldest.
Conclusion
In summary, swimmers were faster when using a wetsuit, and local Spanish swimmers were the fastest and also used wetsuits most frequently. Male and older swimmers used wetsuits more often than other swimmers, and the use of wetsuits has increased in the last three decades.
... Could a similar mechanism also explain discrepant findings on the performance of men compared to women? Recent studies investigating master swimmers in pool and open-water swimming showed that women in older age groups (80 years and older) achieved a similar performance to men in an investigation of 65,584 freestyle pool swimmers (29,467 women and 36,117 men) competing in 50 to 800 m [25] races and when 7592 freestyle open-water swimmers (2829 women and 4768 men) competing in 3000 m [26] races in the FINA World championships from and 1992, who conducted a similar study except that they focused on the top ten swimmers in the years between 1986 and 2011 (6760 athletes in total, men and women), found that the performance of women in every age group was inferior and, contrary to Knechtle et al. [25,26], that the sex gap increased with age. ...
... In addition, the loss in skeletal muscle mass is more pronounced in men at the age of 60 years and above compared to women of the same age, with sarcopenia present in~53% of men compared to~47% of women [41]. Our finding of a sex gap reduction with increasing age in ultra-marathon running is consistent with recent findings of studies analyzing master swimmers competing in pool and open-water races [6,25,26,[29][30][31]. The factor of sarcopenia was also suggested by Knechtle et al. [25], who investigated 65,584 freestyle master swimmers between 1986 and 2014. ...
Age and sex are well-known factors influencing ultra-marathon race performance. The fact that women in older age groups are able to achieve a similar performance as men has been documented in swimming. In ultra-marathon running, knowledge is still limited. The aim of this study was to analyze sex-specific performance in ultra-marathon running according to age and distance. All ultra-marathon races documented in the online database of the German Society for Ultra-Marathon from 1964 to 2017 for 50-miles races (i.e. 231,980 records from 91,665 finishers) and from 1953 to 2017 for 100-miles races (i.e. 107,445 records from 39,870 finishers) were analyzed. In 50-miles, races times were 11.74±1.95 h for men and 12.31±1.69 h for women. In 100-miles, race times were 26.6±3.49 h for men and 27.47±3.6 h for women. The sex differences decreased with older age and were smaller in 100-miles (4.41%) than in 50-miles races (9.13%). The overall age of peak performance was 33 years in both distances. In summary, women reduced the performance difference to men with advancing age, the relative difference being smaller in 100-miles compared to 50-miles. These findings might aid coaches and ultra-marathon runners setting long-term training goals considering their sex and age.
Keywords: age of peak performance; athlete; sex difference; ultra-endurance
... For master athletes, it seems that elderly women can reach the performance of elderly men, especially in pool and open-water swimming. Recent studies investigating master pool swimmers in freestyle [14], backstroke [15], butterfly [16], breaststroke [17], individual medley [14], and open-water [18] swimming showed that women in the older age groups (i.e., older than 75 years) achieved a similar performance to men. ...
... We hypothesized that women in long-distance running would close the gap to men in older age groups as it has been shown in freestyle [14], backstroke [15], butterfly [16], breaststroke [17], individual medley [14], and open-water [18] swimming. However, in contrast to swimming, we did not find the same pattern in running. ...
Recent studies investigating elite and master athletes in pool-and long-distance 18 open-water swimming showed for elite swimmers that the fastest women were able to outperform 19 the fastest men and for master athletes that elderly women were able to achieve a similar 20 performance to elderly men. The present study investigating age group records in runners from 5 21 km to 6 days aimed to test this hypothesis for master runners. Data from the American Master 22 Road Running Records for 5km, 8km, 10km, 10miles, 20km, half-marathon, 25km, 30km, marathon, 23 50km, 50miles, 100km, 100miles, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 144 hours for athletes in age 24 groups ranging from 40 to 99 years old were analyzed. The performance gap between men and 25 women showed higher effects in events lengthening from 5 km to 10 miles (d = 0.617) and lower 26 effects in events lengthening from 12 to 144 hours (d = 0.304) running. Both other groups showed 27 similar effects, being 20 km to the marathon (d = 0.607) and 50 km to 100 miles (d = 0.563). The 28 performance gap between men and women showed higher effects in the age groups 85 years and 29 above (d = 0.953) followed by 55 to 69 years (d = 0.633), and the lower effects for the age groups 40 to 30 54 years (d = 0.558) and 70 to 84 years (d = 0.508). In summary, men are faster than women in 31 American road running events, however, the sex gap decreases with increasing age but not with 32 increasing event length. 33
... Little is known, however, about the sex differences in performance with increasing age and the differences between different sports disciplines (i.e., swimming versus running) [9]. Recent studies investigated master swimmers competing at a world class level in the FINA World Championships (Fédération Internationale de Natation) and showed that women in older age groups reduced the gap between women and men and that they were able to achieve a similar performance to men in older age groups for different strokes such as freestyle [10], backstroke [11], breaststroke [12], butterfly [13], individual medley [14], and open-water, long-distance swimming [15]. ...
... It was also found that the trend of sex differences in performance by age were event-dependent and not monotonic (Figure 4a). This finding is in line with recent findings for master swimmers competing in freestyle [10], backstroke [11], breaststroke [12], butterfly [13], individual medley [14], and open-water, long-distance swimming [15] in the FINA World Championships. In these master swimmers, women were able to reduce the gap between women and men with increasing age, where women at the age of~85 years and older were able to achieve a performance similar to men. ...
Master athletes have been used previously to examine age-related differences in aerobic capacity; however, less research has been conducted on the variation of jumping and throwing performance with aging. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate (a) age-related differences in throwing (i.e. discus, hammer, javelin and shot put) and jumping events (i.e. high jump, long jump, pole vault and triple jump) in 5-year age groups (from 35-39 to 95-99 years) of elite master athletes and (b) performance trends and sex difference. The top eight female and male finalists for each age group and each event from 20 European Championships held between 1978 and 2017 were considered. Overall, 13,673 observations from 4,726 master athletes were analysed. For each event separately, a mixed regression model was performed with sex, age group, calendar year and interactions terms (sex-age group; sex-year) defined as fixed effects. Performances over time were increasing overall for each event, with a linear trend. Compared with women, men had better performances (i.e. in triple jump the estimated difference was 2.58 meters, p<0.001). Performances declined with age for each event (i.e. in triple jump, compared with age group 45-49 years, performance in age group 35-39 was 0.98 meter better and, in age 85-89, was 6.24 meter worse). Decline of men performances with age was slower or faster than decline of women performance depending on age groups and events.
Keywords: age; athletics; master athlete; age group; sex; track-and-field
... However, in the 5 km, 10 km and 25 km FINA races, men were faster than women in all race distances [9,10] although women improved their performance in the 10 km race distance, but not for the other distances [10,11]. Interestingly, in the 3000 m FINA World Championships between 1992 and 2014, women were not able to reduce the sex difference in performance to men across years [12]. ...
In elite pool swimmers competing at world class level, mainly athletes from the United States of America and Australia are dominating. Little is known, however, for the ationality of dominating swimmers in elite open-water long-distance swimming races such as the official FINA races over 5 km, 10 km and 25 km—held since 2000. The aim of this study was to investigate the participation and performance trends by nationality of these elite open-water swimmers. Race results from all female and male swimmers competing in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km FINA races between 2000 and 2020 were analyzed. A total of 9819 swimmers competed between 2000 and 2020 in these races. The five countries that figure most times among the top ten in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km races over the years were Italy, Germany, Russia, Brazil and the Netherlands. In 10 km races, considering the all the athletes from each country, male athletes from Germany, Italy, and France presented faster race times than the other countries. In 10 km, female athletes presented no significant difference among the countries. In 5 and 25 km races, there were no ifferences between countries, for male and female athletes. Moreover, comparing only the 10 best results (top 10) from each country, there were no differences between countries in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km, for male and female athletes. Men were faster than women for all three distances. In summary, male swimmers from Europe (i.e., Germany, Italy, France) are dominating the 10 km FINA races. In the 5 km and 25 km FINA races, there is no dominating nationality, but among the top five countries in the top 10 over the years, three are European countries.
... However, this decline might be slowed down with increased training volume [19]. For 3000 m open-water swimmers, the performance trend by age group has already been investigated [20] and we know the sex difference in open-water swimming [21], however, we have no knowledge in which age group these 3000 open-water master swimmers achieve their best performance. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the participation and performance trends of master open-water swimmers competing in the WC in 3000 m open-water swimming. ...
Background:
It is well known that athletes originating from a specific region or country can master specific sports disciplines (e.g., East-African runners in long-distance running). In addition, physical and athletic performance are the result of an interaction between genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors. However, little is known about on what determines sports success and performance for long-distance master swimmers such as origin. The aim of the study was to investigate the participation and performance trends of elite master open-water swimmers competing in the World Championships (WC) in 3000 m open-water swimming between 1986 and 2019.
Methods:
A total of 9247 valid participants were analyzed using generalized linear models (GLMs) with a gamma probability distribution and log link function. Resultsː Most of the starters were from Italy (1646 participations), followed by the United States of America (USA) (1128 participations) and Germany (959 participations). Swimmers from Italy were significantly faster than swimmers from Canada, Germany, USA, Great Britain and also from all other countries grouped (p < 0.005). The age group from 35-39 years old was significantly faster than athletes from age groups of 25-29 years old, 30-34 years old, 40-44 years old, 45-49 years old and 50-54 years old (p < 0.005). The percentage of local athletes in WC was 36% and varied from 36% (Italy, 2004) to 43 % (Germany), 53% (Italy, 2012) and up to 68 % (USA, 1992).
Conclusions:
Swimmers from Italy were the faster and the most numerous starters during this period of 27 years and 15 editions all over the world in 3000 m master open-water swimming.
... Daya tahan otot lengan adalah salah latihan yang sangat penting dalam renang gaya dada, dalam hal ini tolakan atau dorongan tangan menjadi penentu untuk mencapai garis finish. Renang merupakan salah satu cabang olahraga perorangan atau kelompok dari kelompok olahraga air(Knechtle et al., 2017;Leonard et al., 2018;. ...
p>The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between endurance of the arm muscles and confidence in the ability to swim 50 meters breaststroke. The population numbered 39 athele and 32 samples were taken using the purposive sampling technique. This type of research uses descriptive correlational. The instruments used were pull-up tests, confidence questionnaires and the ability to swim 50 meters breaststroke. Data analysis uses simple correlation and multiple correlation. The results of the study were significant> 0.05, indicating that: (1) There was a correlation between endurance of the arm muscles and swimming ability of 50 meters breaststroke. (2) There is a relationship of confidence with the ability to swim 50 meters breaststroke. (3) There is a relationship between endurance of the arm muscles and confidence with the ability to swim 50 meters breaststroke. </p
... This classification was performed based on the different activity on the pitch, and the primary area in which this activity was performed. In line with previous studies in soccer (4) and individual sports (19,(21)(22)(23)(29)(30)(31)(32), soccer players were divided into 5-year age groups: G1 (,20 years), G2 (20-24.9 years), G3 (25-29.9 ...
Rey, E, Costa, PB, Corredoira, FJ, and Sal de Rellán Guerra, A. Effects of age on physical match performance in professional soccer players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2019-This study aimed to evaluate the effects of age using a large-scale analysis of match physical performance in professional soccer players. A total of 10,739 individual match observations were undertaken on outfield players competing in the first and second divisions of the Spanish soccer professional leagues during the 2017-2018 season, using a computerized tracking system (TRACAB, Chyronhego, New York, USA). The players were classified into five positions and into 5 age groups (<20 years, 20-24.9 years, 25-29.9 years, 30-34.9 years, and ≥35 years). The results showed that (a) professional soccer players aged ≥30 years exhibit a significant decrease (p < 0.01) in the total distance covered, medium-speed running distance, high-speed running (HSR) distance, very HSR (VHSR) distance, sprint distance, and maximum running speed compared with younger players (<30 years); (b) professional soccer players aged ≥35 years exhibit a significant decrease (p < 0.01) in the number of HSR, number of VHSR, and number of sprints compared with younger players (<35 years); and (c) all playing positions reduced their physical performance; however, external midfielders were less affected by age effects. In conclusion, this study demonstrates players' physical match performance reduces with increasing age. Such findings may help coaches and managers to better understand the effects of age on match-related physical performance and may have the potential to assist in decisions regarding recruitment and player list management within professional soccer clubs.
... On the other hand, when compared with swimming, women were not slower compared to men in age groups 80-84 to 85-89 years when trends in participation, performance, and sex difference in performance of 65,584 freestyle master swimmers from 25-29 to 85-89 years competing in FINA World Masters Championships between 1986 and 2014 were investigated ( Knechtle et al., 2016a). The same trends could also be observed for open- water freestyle swimming ( Knechtle et al., 2017a) and other pool swimming disciplines such as breaststroke ( Knechtle et al., 2016b), butterfly ( Knechtle et al., 2017b), backstroke (Unterweger et al., 2016), and individual medley (Nikolaidis and Knechtle, 2018c). An explanation of this variation by exercise mode (i.e., running vs. swimming) might be that the physiological sex differences (for example, more subcutaneous fat in women) that limit women's performance more in weight- bearing exercise than non-weight bearing exercise, and more balanced participation levels of both sexes in elite swimming than marathon running (Senefeld et al., 2016;Millard-Stafford et al., 2018). ...
This study investigated the relationship between race times and age, in 1-year intervals, by using the world single age records, from 5 km to marathon running (i.e. 5 km, 4 miles, 8 km, 10 km, 12 km, 15 km, 10 miles, 20 km, half-marathon, 25 km, 30 km, and marathon). For each race, a regression model was fitted. Effects of sex, alone and in interaction with age, and the effect of country of origin on performance were examined in a multi-variable model. The relationship between age and race time was modelled through a 4th order-polynomial function. Women achieved their best half-marathon and marathon race time, respectively, one year and three years earlier in life than men. On the contrary, in the other races, the best women performances were achieved later in life than men (i.e. 4 miles and 30 km: 2 years later, 8km: 3 years later, 15-20-25 km: 1 year later, 10 miles : 4 years) or at the same age (i.e. 5 km, 10 km, 12 km). Moreover, age of peak performance did not change monotonically with the distance of race. For all races, except 12 km, sex differences had an absolute maximum at old ages and a relative maximum near the age of peak performance. From 8 km onward, estimated sex differences were increasing with increasing race distance. Regarding country, runners from Canada were slower than runners from the United States of America in 5 km by 00:10:05 h:min:s (p<0.001) and in half-marathon by 00:18:43 h:min:s (p<0.01). On the contrary, in marathon, they were 00:18:43 h:min faster (p<0.05). Moreover, in 10 miles, runners from Great Britain were 00:02:53 h:min:s faster (p<0.05) than runners from the United States of America. In summary, differences seem to exist in the age of peak performance between women and men and for nearly all distances sex differences showed an absolute maximum at old ages and relative maximum near the age of peak performance. Thus, these findings highlight the need for sex-specific training programs, especially near the age of peak performance and for elder runners.
Key words: female, male, aging, youth, performance
... Thus, the first purpose of this study was to investigate performance trends in master athletes competing at elite level in the World Championships from 1975 to 2016. Using the existing findings in swimming (Knechtle, Nikolaidis, Rosemann, & Rüst, 2017;Nikolaidis, de Sousa, & Knechtle, 2018) and running , it was hypothesized that the overall ability in both women and men of all age groups would increase throughout recent decades. The second aim was to examine the age-related differences by jumping event in both sexes. ...
The decline of sport performance with age has been well studied in endurance and ultra-endurance events; however, less relevant information exists about performance in throwing and jumping events in track-and-field. Participation and performance of elite age group athletes from 35-39 to 95-99 years competing in World Masters Athletics (WMA) Championships 1975-2016 were examined for throwing (discus, hammer, javelin and shot put) and jumping (high jump, long jump, pole vault and triple jump) events. Overall, 21,723 observations from 8,974 master athletes were analysed. A mixed regression model with sex, age group, calendar year and interactions terms (sex-age group; sex-year) defined as fixed effects was performed for each event separately. Performances over time were increasing overall for each event, with a cubic trend. Compared with women, men had better performances (e.g. in triple jump the estimated difference was 3.378 meters, p<0.001). However, women improved their performance more than men across calendar years. Performances declined with age for each event (e.g. in triple jump, compared with age group 45-49 years, performance in age group 35-39 years was 1.041 meter better and in age group 85-89 years was 5.342 meter worse). In summary, performance in jumping and throwing events of WMA Championships improved across calendar years, whereas the decline of performance with age was dependent on sex and event. The knowledge of these trends might assist master athletes in setting long-term sex- and age-tailored performance goals.
Key words: age; muscle power; muscle strength; sex
... Although one might argue that this result was trivial, recent studies investigating master pool swimmers in freestyle (26), breaststroke (28), backstroke (60), and openwater swimmers (27) showed that men were faster than women for younger age groups but not for older age groups where women achieved a similar performance to men. The explanation was that in the studies with swimmers at the World Championships, no selection by age group occurred, and all swimmers in all age groups were considered. ...
The performance trends in elite runners have been well investigated, but we have no knowledge about performance trends and the difference between the sexes in elderly runners competing at a high level in varying distances. The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of these age groups. Data from seventeen European Championships held between 1978 and 2014 were analyzed for various race distances (i.e. 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m and marathon). Running speed for the top 8 female and male finalists for each age group (35-99 years, split into 5 year gaps) and each race distance were included. A two-way analysis of variance compared the effects of sex, race distance, age group and calendar year on speed. Subsequent comparisons between race distances, age groups or calendar years were carried out using a post-hoc Bonferroni test. Our analysis shows that men were faster than women in all distances and the difference between the sexes was greater in the shorter distances. Speed was higher for shorter distances than for longer distances. Younger participants were faster than older ones, and the effect of age group was the largest for the 200 m. There was a minor effect of calendar year on speed in the 100 m, 200 m, 1500 m, 10,000 m and marathon, and a minor calendar year×sex interaction on running speed was shown for the 200 m. For athletes and coaches, the current study demonstrates that both male and female athletes improved their running performance over time and that the sex gap may have reached its limit.
... Symptoms of SIPE include pronounced dyspnea, cough, hypoxemia, and profuse frothy hemoptysis [4]. The study of SIPE is of great practical value for the sports medicine team considering the increasing rates of participation during the last years in endurance events such as open-water swimming [5] and triathlon races in the cold [6]. ...
Master athletes have been widely used to examine the age-induced decline of human performance. However, so far very limited reviews are available consolidating the age-related differences in master swimming performance. The aim of the present review was to summarize existing knowledge about the age-related changes in three modalities of swimming performance ( i.e. , pool-swimming, open-water swimming and swim split in triathlons of different distances). In addition, the paradigm of freestyle swimming records from 50 to 1500 m was used to examine age-related differences and sex difference in performance for age groups 25–29 to 100–104 years. For this example of master freestyle swimmers, the sex difference was smaller in the longer events and increased significantly after the age of ∼70 years. In summary, master athletes competing in swimming as single discipline ( i.e. , pool-swimming and open-water) and in triathlon ( i.e. , swim split as first discipline) improved their performances across calendar years. The age-related performance decline in swimming seems to be specific to the discipline, the sex and the length of the swimming event.
The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of sex, age and performance level on pacing of Ironman triathletes. Split times (i.e. swimming, cycling, and running) and overall race times of 343,345 athletes competing between 2002 and 2015 in 253 different Ironman triathlon races were analyzed. Participants were classified into nine performance groups according to their overall race time. Times in swimming, cycling, running and transition were expressed as percentage of the overall race time. Women spent relatively less time (%) in swimming (10.13±1.35% versus 10.26±1.38%, Cohen’s d=-0.10), running (37.53±3.01% versus 38.01±3.34%, d=-0.15) and transition time (1.79±0.61% versus 1.84±0.65%, d=-0.08), and more time (%) in cycling (50.55±2.83% versus 49.88±3.05%, d=0.23) than men (p<0.001). The slowest performance group was relatively faster in swimming (9.77±1.52% versus 10.20±0.83%, η2=0.018) and cycling (47.77±2.83% versus 54.08±1.44%, η2=0.138), and relatively slower in running (40.25±3.03 versus 34.81±1.42%, η2=0.098) and transition time (2.21±0.57% versus 0.91±0.26%, η2=0.178) than the fastest performance group. The younger age groups were relatively faster in swimming, running and transition time, but relatively slower in cycling. In summary, the fastest Ironman triathletes were the relatively fastest in running and transition times whereas the slowest athletes were the relatively fastest in swimming and cycling. For practical applications, race tactics in an Ironman triathlon should focus on saving energy during swimming and cycling for the running split at the end of the race.
Key Words: swimming; cycling; running; transition time; ultra-endurance
The aim of the present study was to examine the performance×age interaction on pacing in cross-country (XC) skiing. We analyzed all finishers (n=79,722) who competed in ‘Vasaloppet’ from 2012 to 2017 grouped in performance quartiles according to their race time with Q1 as the fastest and Q4 as the slowest. Women (44.1±10.2%) had larger pace range than men (40.9±11.8%; p<0.001, η2=0.014). The pace range ranged from 29.8±7.1% (Q1) to 49.0±10.1% (Q4; p<0.001, η2=0.179). In women and men, smaller differences in pace range among age groups for the faster performance groups were observed (p<0.001, η2=0.014, η2=0.008, respectively). In summary, fast XC skiers adopted relatively even pacing independent of their age, and the older XC skiers adopted more even pacing than their younger counterparts of similar performance level suggesting that differences among age groups are performance-dependent.
Keywords: Cross-country skier, Endurance exercise, Gender, Pacing, Race speed.
The relationship between age and elite marathon race times is well investigated, but little is known for half-marathon running. This study investigated the relationship between half-marathon race times and age in 1-year intervals by using the world singe age records in half-marathon running and the sex difference in performance from 5-91 years in men and 5-93 years in women. We found a 4th order-polynomial relationship between age and race time for both women and men. Women achieve their best half marathon race time earlier in life than men, 23.89 years compared with 28.13, but when using a non-linear regression analysis, the age of the fastest race time does not differ between men and women with 26.62 years in women and 26.80 years in men.
Moreover, women increase the sex difference in half-marathon running performance to men with advancing age.
Open-water ultra-distance swimming has a long history where the 'English Channel' (~33 km) was crossed in 1875 for the first time. Nowadays, the three most challenging open-water swims worldwide are the 21-miles (34 km) 'English Channel Swim', the 20.1-miles (32.2 km) 'Catalina Channel Swim' and the 28.5-miles (45.9 km) 'Manhattan Island Marathon Swim', also called the 'Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming'. Recent studies showed that women were able to achieve men's performance in the 'English Channel Swim' or to even outperform men in the 'Manhattan Island Marathon Swim'. However, the analysis of the 'Catalina Channel Swim' as part of the 'Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming' is missing. We investigated performance and sex difference in performance for successful women and men crossing the 'Catalina Channel' between 1927 and 2014. The fastest woman ever was ~22 min faster than the fastest man ever. Although the three fastest women ever were ~20 min faster than the three fastest men ever, the difference reached not statistical significance (p > 0.05). Similarly for the ten fastest ever, the ~1 min difference for women was not significant (p > 0.05). However, when the swimming times of the annual fastest women (n = 39) and the annual fastest men (n = 50) competing between 1927 and 2014 were compared, women (651 ± 173 min) were 52.9 min (16 ± 12%) faster than men (704 ± 279 min) (p < 0.0001). Across years, swimming times decreased non-linearly in the annual fastest men (polynomial 2nd degree) and women (polynomial 3rd degree) whereas the sex difference decreased linearly from 52.4% (1927) to 7.1% (2014). In summary, the annual fastest women crossed the 'Catalina Channel' faster than the annual fastest men. The non-linear decrease in swimming times suggests that female and male swimmers have reached a limit in this event. However, the linear decrease in the sex difference may indicate that women continuously narrow the gap to men.
To determine age- and sex-specific body composition reference values and investigate age differences in these parameters for community-dwelling older Japanese men and women, using direct segmental multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis.
We conducted a pooled analysis of data collected in four cohort studies between 2008 and 2012: Kusatsu Longitudinal Study, Hatoyama Cohort Study, Itabashi Cohort Study, and Kashiwa Cohort Study. The pooled analysis included cross-sectional data from 4478 nondisabled, community-dwelling adults aged 65-94 years (2145 men, 2333 women; mean age: 72.9 years in men and 72.6 years in women). Body weight, fat mass (FM), percentage FM, fat-free mass (FFM), and appendicular lean soft tissue mass were measured using the InBody 720 and 430 (Biospace Co. Ltd, Seoul, Korea). The values were then normalized by height in meters squared to determine body mass index (BMI), FM index (FMI), FFM index (FFMI), and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI).
Simple means (standard deviation) of BMI, percentage FM, FMI, FFMI, and SMI were 23.4 (2.9) kg/m2, 24.9 (6.3)%, 5.96 (2.09) kg/m2, 17.4 (1.5) kg/m2, and 7.29 (0.76) kg/m2, respectively, in men and 22.7 (3.3) kg/m2, 31.7 (7.1)%, 7.40 (2.61) kg/m2, 15.3 (1.2) kg/m2, and 5.86 (0.67) kg/m2, respectively, in women. We then calculated quartiles and quintiles for these indices after stratifying for sex and 5-year age group. FFMI and SMI decreased significantly with age in both sexes (P < 0.001 for trends), but FFMI remained constant among the women with only a 1% decrease up to age 84 years. Percentage FM increased significantly, with age (P < 0.001 in men and P = 0.045 in women for trends), but FMI was unchanged in both sexes (P = 0.147 in men and P = 0.176 in women for trends).
The present data should be useful in the clinical evaluation of body composition of older Japanese and for international comparisons. The small age-related decrease in FFMI may be a noteworthy characteristic of body composition change in older Japanese women.
Background
Swimming is often recommended as a means of increasing physical activity and gaining health benefits. The present study examined the psychological, social, and physical health states in competitive swimmers engaged in long-term training.
Methods
The study took place during the 4 days of the French master championships in France in 2011 (from 10 to 13 March). Global health parameters were evaluated and compared with general values reported in studies aiming to describe health standard values in France or Europe. All swimmers selected for the event were invited to participate in the study. Setting questionnaires concerning mental and social health (short form 36), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and medication were administered. Peak expiratory flow (l.min−1) was measured, and body mass index (kg.m−2) was calculated from height (m) and body mass (kg). Prevalence of overweight and obesity was calculated by age and gender. Chi-squared tests were used to compare prevalence of overweight and obesity between participants and reference values. Short form 36 scores and physical activity (met.h.week−1) were compared with reference values by single t-tests. Two-way ANOVA was used to compare peak flow results with standard values. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results
Out of 1554 master swimmers, 490 participated in this study (rates of participation = 44.8 and 23.5 % for females and males, respectively). Data showed inequality of health indexes as compared with reference values, despite a significantly higher level of physical activity including swimming activity. The prevalence of obesity was significantly lower (p < 0.05), and peak expiratory flow values were higher among female swimmers (from 7.6 to 17 % higher according to the age, p < 0.05). Perception of vitality was significantly higher for all female swimmers and the older age groups of male swimmers (p < 0.05). Perception of bodily pain indicated significantly lower scores for swimmers than the reference values (p < 0.05). Significantly lower prevalence of swimmers taking medication was noted in comparison with the French national values (p = 0.012).
Conclusions
Compared with reference data from various sources, master competitive swimmers used less medication, had lower rates of obesity in most age groups, had greater peak expiratory flow values suggesting improved lung function, had higher levels of total physical activity, and had more favorable scores for various subscales of the SF-36. The results argue in favor of competitive swimming for its positive effects on health outcomes.
Background/objectives:
The prevalence of obesity, defined as body mass index (BMI) ⩾30 kg/m(2), differs between populations; however, there is a need for data on description on body composition in reference populations of different ages and from different countries. The objective of this study was to pool dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body composition reference data from population-based Swedish cohorts.
Subjects/methods:
Four population-based cross-sectional cohort studies including 1424 adult Swedes were divided into five age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-61 and 75 years of age); BMI 24.6±3.9 kg/m(2) were pooled. Body composition was measured with DXA.
Results:
The difference in BMI from the youngest to the oldest age group was 3.2 and 4.3 kg/m(2) in men and women, respectively (P<0.001, both sexes), and fat mass (FM) was 9.9 and 9.1% higher in the oldest compared with the youngest men and women (P<0.001, both sexes). Fat-free mass (FFM) remained stable up to 60 years of age in men (P=0.83) and was lower at 75 years of age compared with the younger ages. In women, FFM was lower from age 60. From youngest to oldest age groups, height-adjusted FM differed from 4.6 to 7.8 kg/m(2) in men and from 6.8 to 10.8 kg/m(2) in women (P<0.001, both sexes).
Conclusions:
Our results provide reference data on body composition in Swedish populations. BMI and FM were higher among older age groups compared with the younger ones. FFM remained stable up to 60 years of age and was lower first among the 75 years of age.
Aim:
This study was intended to evaluate the effect of high-tech swimsuits (HTS) on the swimming performance of top-level swimmers in the 50m. event. Special attention has been given to the assessment of HTS effects related to low resistance strokes (LRS: freestyle and backstroke) and high resistance strokes (HRS: breaststroke and butterfly).
Methods:
The data was collected from a database of two subsequent World Swimming Championships in 2009 and 2011. In the 2009 World Swimming Championships (WSC) all athletes had used HTS, whereas in the 2011 WSC following the new regulation of the International Swimming Federation the HTS's were excluded and all participants had utilized standard swimsuits only. This study's database has been accomplished with performance times (PT) of the six leading female and male participants of the 50m. events; totaling 46 participants in 2009 and 45 participants in 2011 WSC. PT of preliminary, semifinal, and final events were tested using an unpaired t-test with Bonferroni-Holm correction. The Fisher's exact test 2 x 2 was used to determine association between significant/insignificant changes in the PT and LRS/HRS.
Results:
The 2x2 Fisher's exact test demonstrates the difference between the LRS and HRS strokes for females and males with and without the HTS is statistically significant: P=0.021. For females only P=0.015, and for males only P=0.3863.
Conclusion:
The obtained results show that rejection of the HTS led to significant decrease of athletic performances. It was found that HTS gave more pronounced facilitation effect for men as compared with women, and for low resistance as compared with high resistance swimming strokes.
Recent studies suggested that women and men's ultra-swim performances may be similar for distances of ~35 km. The present study investigated both the gender difference and the age of peak ultra-swim performance between 1983 and 2013 at the 46-km 'Manhattan Island Marathon Swim' with water temperatures <20°C.
Changes in race times and gender difference in 551 male and 237 female finishers were investigated using linear, non-linear, and hierarchical multi-level regression analyses.
The top ten race times ever were significantly (P<0.0001) lower for women (371±11 min) than for men (424±9 min). Race times of the annual fastest and annual three fastest women and men did not differ between genders and remained stable across years. The age of the annual three fastest swimmer increased from 28±4 years (1983) to 38±6 years (2013) (r2=0.06, P=0.03) in women and from 23±4 years (1984) to 42±8 years (2013) (r2=0.19, P<0.0001) in men.
The best women were ~12-14% faster than the best men in a 46-km open-water ultra-distance race with temperatures <20°C. The maturity of ultra-distance swimmers has changed during the last decades with the fastest swimmers becoming older across the years.
The present study investigated the changes in swimming speeds and sex differences for elite male and female swimmers competing in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km open-water FINA World Cup races held between 2000 and 2012.
The changes in swimming speeds and sex differences across years were analysed using linear, non-linear, and multi-level regression analyses for the annual fastest and the annual ten fastest competitors.
For the annual fastest, swimming speed remained stable for men and women in 5 km (5.50 +/- 0.21 and 5.08 +/- 0.19 km/h, respectively), in 10 km (5.38 +/- 0.21 and 5.05 +/- 0.26 km/h, respectively) and in 25 km (5.03 +/- 0.32 and 4.58 +/- 0.27 km/h, respectively). In the annual ten fastest, swimming speed remained constant in 5 km in women (5.02 +/- 0.19 km/h) but decreased significantly and linearly in men from 5.42 +/- 0.03 km/h to 5.39 +/- 0.02 km/h. In 10 km, swimming speed increased significantly and linearly in women from 4.75 +/- 0.01 km/h to 5.74 +/- 0.01 km/h but remained stable in men at 5.36 +/- 0.21 km/h. In 25 km, swimming speed decreased significantly and linearly in women from 4.60 +/- 0.06 km/h to 4.44 +/- 0.08 km/h but remained unchanged at 4.93 +/- 0.34 km/h in men. For the annual fastest, the sex difference in swimming speed remained unchanged in 5 km (7.6 +/- 3.0%), 10 km (6.1 +/- 2.5%) and 25 km (9.0 +/- 3.7%). For the annual ten fastest, the sex difference remained stable in 5 km at 7.6 +/- 0.6%, decreased significantly and linearly in 10 km from 7.7 +/- 0.7% to 1.2 +/- 0.3% and increased significantly and linearly from 4.7 +/- 1.4% to 9.6 +/- 1.5% in 25 km.
To summarize, elite female open-water ultra-distance swimmers improved in 10 km but impaired in 25 km leading to a linear decrease in sex difference in 10 km and a linear increase in sex difference in 25 km. The linear changes in sex differences suggest that women will improve in the near future in 10 km, but not in 25 km.
In La Traversée Internationale du Lac St-Jean, held between 1955 and 2012 in Canada, the fastest women (r(2) = 0.61, p < 0.0001) and men (r(2) = 0.66, p < 0.0001) improved swimming speed over the years but the sex difference remained unchanged at 8.8% ± 5.6% (r(2) = 0.069, p = 0.065). Annually, for the 3 fastest swimmers, both women (r(2) = 0.53, p < 0.0001) and men (r(2) = 0.71, p < 0.0001) improved swimming speed between 1973 and 2012 and the sex difference decreased (r(2) = 0.29, p = 0.0016) from 14.4% ± 11.0% (1973) to 3.7% ± 1.4% (2012).
Age and peak performance in ultra-endurance athletes have been mainly investigated in long-distance runners and triathletes, but not for long-distance swimmers. The present study investigated the age and swimming performance of elite ultra-distance swimmers competing in the 5-, 10- and 25-km Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Cup swimming events.
The associations of age and swimming speed in elite male and female swimmers competing in World Cup events of 5-, 10- and 25-km events from 2000 to 2012 were analysed using single and multi-level regression analyses.
During the studied period, the swimming speed of the annual top ten women decreased significantly from 4.94 ± 0.20 to 4.77 ± 0.09 km/h in 5 km and from 4.60 ± 0.04 to 4.44 ± 0.08 km/h in 25 km, while it significantly increased from 4.57 ± 0.01 to 5.75 ± 0.01 km/h in 10 km. For the annual top ten men, peak swimming speed decreased significantly from 5.42 ± 0.04 to 5.39 ± 0.02 km/h in 5 km, while it remained unchanged at 5.03 ± 0.32 km/h in 10 km and at 4.94 ± 0.35 km/h in 25 km. The age of peak swimming speed for the annual top ten women remained stable at 22.5 ± 1.2 years in 5 km, at 23.4 ± 0.9 years in 10 km and at 23.8 ± 0.9 years in 25 km. For the annual top ten men, the age of peak swimming speed increased from 23.7 ± 2.8 to 28.0 ± 5.1 years in 10 km but remained stable at 24.8 ± 1.0 years in 5 km and at 27.2 ± 1.1 years in 25 km.
Female long-distance swimmers competing in FINA World Cup races between 2000 and 2012 improved in 10 km but impaired in 5 and 25 km, whereas men only impaired in 5 km. The age of peak performance was younger in women (approximately 23 years) compared to men (about 25-27 years).
This study investigated trends in performance and sex difference in swimming speed of elite open-water swimmers at FINA 10 km competitions (i.e. World Cup races, European Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games). Swimming speed and sex difference in swimming speed of the fastest and the top ten women and men per event competing at 10 km open-water races between 2008 and 2012 were analysed using single and multi-level regression analyses. A total of 2,591 swimmers (i.e. 1,120 women and 1,471 men) finished 47 races. Swimming speed of the fastest women (1.35 ± 0.9 m/s) and men (1.45 ± 0.10 m/s) showed no changes across years. The mean sex difference in swimming speed for the fastest swimmers was 6.8 ± 2.5%. Swimming speed of the top ten female swimmers per event was 1.34 ± 0.09 m/s and remained stable across the years. The top ten male swimmers per event showed a significant decrease in swimming speed over time, even though swimming speed in the first race (i.e. January 2008, 1.40 ± 0.0 m/s) was slower than the swimming speed in the last race (i.e. October 2012, 1.50 ± 0.0 m/s) (P < 0.05). To summarize, swimming performances remained stable for the fastest elite open-water swimmers at 10 km FINA competitions between 2008 and 2012, while performances of the top ten men tended to decrease. The sex difference in swimming speed in elite ultra-swimmers (~7%) appeared smaller compared to other ultra-distance disciplines such as running. Further studies should examine how body shape and physiology of elite open-water ultra-distance swimmers influence performances.
Alteration in body composition, physical function, and substrate metabolism occur with advancing age. These changes can be attenuated by exercise. This study evaluated whether master athletes (MA [n = 20]) would have improved exercise capabilities, anthropometry, and hormone profiles when compared with age-matched sedentary counterparts (S [n = 28]). The MA group was predominantly aerobically trained with some resistance exercise incorporated in their routine. The VO2max, peak power output, and salivary testosterone was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the MA group, while diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and body fat percentage were lower (p < 0.05). Cortisol, fat free mass, (FFM) and total body mass were not significantly different between groups. Salivary testosterone correlated positively with VO2max (r (2) = .320), suggesting that increased aerobic capacity is linked with higher concentrations of testosterone. These results suggest that life-long exercise is associated with favorable body composition and attenuation of the age related decline in testosterone.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate body composition parameters, including fat‐free mass (FFM), appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM), relative skeletal muscle mass (RSM) index, body cell mass (BCM), BCM index, total body potassium (TBK), fat mass, percentage fat mass (FM), and their differences between age groups and to evaluate the frequency of sarcopenia in healthy older subjects
DESIGN: Cross‐sectional, nonrandomized study.
SETTING: Outpatient clinic.
PARTICIPANTS: Ninety‐one healthy men and 100 healthy women age 60 and older.
MEASUREMENTS: FFM, ASMM, FM, and percentage fat mass by whole‐body dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry; TBK, BCM, and TBK/FFM ratio by whole body potassium‐40 counter.
RESULTS: All lean body mass parameters were significantly ( P < .05) lower in subjects age 80 and older than in those age 70 to 79, except ASMM in women. Mean FFM was 4.2 kg (7.3%) lower in men age 80 and older than in those younger than 70 and 2.9 kg (6.8%) lower in women age 80 and older than in those younger than 70. The skeletal muscle mass, reflected by ASMM, decreased more than FFM. This suggests that nonskeletal muscle mass is proportionally preserved during aging. Forty‐five percent of men and 30% of women were sarcopenic by definition of BCM index and 11.0% of men and women by definition of RSM index.
CONCLUSIONS: Significant age‐related differences exist in body composition of older men and women between age 60 and 95. The greater decrease in TBK and BCM than the decrease in FFM and skeletal muscle mass suggests changing composition of FFM with age. Lack of agreement between two independent sarcopenia indexes suggests that further refinement in the definition of a sarcopenia index is necessary.
Endurance sports are increasing in popularity and athletes at all levels are looking for ways to optimize their performance by training and nutrition. For endurance exercise lasting 30 min or more, the most likely contributors to fatigue are dehydration and carbohydrate depletion, whereas gastrointestinal problems, hyperthermia, and hyponatraemia can reduce endurance exercise performance and are potentially health threatening, especially in longer events (>4 h). Although high muscle glycogen concentrations at the start may be beneficial for endurance exercise, this does not necessarily have to be achieved by the traditional supercompensation protocol. An individualized nutritional strategy can be developed that aims to deliver carbohydrate to the working muscle at a rate that is dependent on the absolute exercise intensity as well as the duration of the event. Endurance athletes should attempt to minimize dehydration and limit body mass losses through sweating to 2-3% of body mass. Gastrointestinal problems occur frequently, especially in long-distance races. Problems seem to be highly individual and perhaps genetically determined but may also be related to the intake of highly concentrated carbohydrate solutions, hyperosmotic drinks, as well as the intake of fibre, fat, and protein. Hyponatraemia has occasionally been reported, especially among slower competitors with very high intakes of water or other low sodium drinks. Here I provide a comprehensive overview of recent research findings and suggest several new guidelines for the endurance athlete on the basis of this. These guidelines are more detailed and allow a more individualized approach.
The relationship of anthropometric and training characteristics with race time were investigated in 39 male and 24 female open-water ultra-endurance swimmers in a 26.4 km open-water ultra-swim, using bi- and multivariate analyses. For the men, body height, Body Mass Index, length of arm, and swimming speed during training were related to race time in the bivariate analysis. For the women, swimming speed during training was associated with performance in the bivariate analysis. In the multivariate analysis for the men, Body Mass Index and swimming speed during training were related to race time.
To evaluate body composition parameters, including fat-free mass (FFM), appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM), relative skeletal muscle mass (RSM) index, body cell mass (BCM), BCM index, total body potassium (TBK), fat mass, percentage fat mass (FM), and their differences between age groups and to evaluate the frequency of sarcopenia in healthy older subjects
Cross-sectional, nonrandomized study.
Outpatient clinic.
Ninety-one healthy men and 100 healthy women age 60 and older.
FFM, ASMM, FM, and percentage fat mass by whole-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; TBK, BCM, and TBK/FFM ratio by whole body potassium-40 counter.
All lean body mass parameters were significantly (P <.05) lower in subjects age 80 and older than in those age 70 to 79, except ASMM in women. Mean FFM was 4.2 kg (7.3%) lower in men age 80 and older than in those younger than 70 and 2.9 kg (6.8%) lower in women age 80 and older than in those younger than 70. The skeletal muscle mass, reflected by ASMM, decreased more than FFM. This suggests that nonskeletal muscle mass is proportionally preserved during aging. Forty-five percent of men and 30% of women were sarcopenic by definition of BCM index and 11.0% of men and women by definition of RSM index.
Significant age-related differences exist in body composition of older men and women between age 60 and 95. The greater decrease in TBK and BCM than the decrease in FFM and skeletal muscle mass suggests changing composition of FFM with age. Lack of agreement between two independent sarcopenia indexes suggests that further refinement in the definition of a sarcopenia index is necessary.
Few studies have evaluated prospectively age-related body composition changes and their relationships with worsening disability in the elderly population.
Ninety-seven women and 62 men aged 71.4+/-2.2 and 71.6+/-2.2 years, respectively, at baseline underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry determinations at baseline and at 2- and 5.5-year follow-up intervals to measure total body and leg fat (FM) and total, appendicular, and leg fat-free mass (FFM). Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (as well as reported disabilities using a four-level scale) were evaluated at baseline and at 2- and 5.5-year follow-up.
In both sexes, total FM did not change significantly, while total, appendicular, and leg FFM significantly decreased over the study follow-up. In men and women losing weight, BMI, total and leg FM, and total, appendicular, and leg FFM significantly decreased. In weight-stable men and women, appendicular and leg FFM significantly decreased and BMI, waist circumference, and total FM significantly increased. Men lost significantly more total, appendicular, and leg FFM than did women, irrespective of whether they maintained or lost weight. Over the follow-up period, 43.3% of women and 43.5% of men declined in one or more levels of reported disability. We evaluated the effect of age, baseline BMI, FM, FFM, number of diseases, baseline 6-minute walking test, categories of weight change, total, appendicular, or leg FFM changes, total FM and waist changes on the probability of a decline in one or more levels of reported disability score over the follow-up period, taking into account sex. Patients losing appendicular and leg FFM were 2.15 and 2.53 times, respectively, more likely to report increased disability than were patients without FFM loss.
Reduction in appendicular or leg FFM was the main predictor of decline in one or more levels of reported disability in older men and women, and accounted for about a 2-fold increase in risk.
Introduction : L’objectif était de faire une synthèse des sources disponibles pour la surveillance épidémiologique des maladies chroniques, des évolutions récentes de certaines d’entre elles, et des raisons probables de ces évolutions et d’en déduire les tendances futures.Méthodes : Au travers d’exemples de pathologies majeures en termes de morbimortalité (cardiopathie ischémique, maladie cérébro-vasculaire, diabète, bronchopneumopathie chronique obstructive (BPCO) et cancer du poumon), nous avons décrit les tendances récentes de la mortalité et des hospitalisations dans la population générale.Résultats : À l’exception du diabète, la morbidité et la mortalité des pathologies considérées ont globalement diminué sur la dernière décennie. Les évolutions sont toutefois contrastées selon l’âge et le sexe, et une augmentation de la mortalité par infarctus du myocarde, BPCO et cancer du poumon, est observée chez les femmes de moins de 55 ans. Globalement, une amélioration de la prévention primaire (pression artérielle, cholestérolémie, tabagisme chez les hommes, etc.) et de la prévention des récidives et des complications expliquent ces tendances.Discussion : Il n’est pas certain que les évolutions favorables observées se poursuivent à l’avenir. Le vieillissement, l’obésité, le diabète et le tabagisme chez les femmes devraient impacter négativement l’évolution à moyen terme de la morbidité et de l’espérance de vie (notamment sans incapacité). Les prévisions sont néanmoins difficiles à faire car d’autres facteurs pourraient atténuer ces tendances (cigarette électronique, chirurgie bariatrique, etc.) ou, au contraire les aggraver (accroissement des inégalités sociales en temps de crise économique, poursuite de l’augmentation du tabagisme chez les femmes, diabète, etc.).
Performance trends in elite freestyle swimmers are well known, but not for master freestyle swimmers. We investigated trends in participation, performance, and sex difference in performance of 65,584 freestyle master swimmers from 25-29 to 85-89 years competing in FINAWorld Masters Championships between 1986 and 2014. The men-to-women ratio was calculated for each age group, and the trend across age groups was analyzed using single linear regression analysis. Trends in performance changes were investigated using a mixed-effects regression model with sex, distance, and calendar year as fixed variables. Participation increased in women and men in older age groups (i. e., 40 years and older). Women and men improved race times across years in all age groups and distances. For age groups 25-29 to 75-79 years, women were slower than men, but not for age groups 80-84 to 85-89 years. In 50, 100, and 200 m, women reduced the sex difference from 1986 to 2014 in age groups 30-34 to 75-79 years. In 400 m, women reduced the gap to men across time in age groups 40-44, 45-49, and 5559 years. In 800 m, sex difference became reduced across time in age groups 55-59 and 70-74 years. In summary, participation increased from 1986 to 2014 in women and men in older age groups, women and men improved across time performance in all distances, and women were not slower compared to men in age groups 80-84 to 85-89 years. We expect a continuous trend in increasing participation and improved performance in master freestyle swimmers.
The objectives were to describe available sources for epidemiological surveillance of chronic diseases, recent trends, and underlying phenomena for these changes and to deduce possible scenarios for the future.
Based on the examples of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, the authors describe recent trends in mortality and hospitalizations in the general population.
Exceptfor diabetes, the morbidity and mortality of the diseases considered have globally declined over the last decade. However, trends varied according to age and gender and an increase in mortality from myocardial infarction, COPD and lung cancer was observed among women under the age of 55. Overall, decreased morbidity and mortality can be explained by improvements in primary prevention (blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking among men...) and prevention of recurrences and complications.
It is unclear whether these improvements will continue in the future. Aging, obesity, diabetes and smoking among women should negatively impact the medium-term morbidity and life expectancy (especially disability-free life expectancy). It is still difficult to predict future trends, as other factors could attenuate (electronic cigarettes, bariatric surgery...) or, on the contrary exacerbate (increased social inequalities in times of economic crisis, continued increase in smoking among women, diabetes...) these trends.
The sex difference in marathon performance increases with finishing place and age of the runner but whether this occurs among swimmers is unknown. The purpose was to compare sex differences in swimming velocity across world record place (1st–10th), age group (25–89 years), and event distance. We also compared sex differences between freestyle swimming and marathon running. The world's top 10 swimming times of both sexes for World Championship freestyle stroke, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events and the world's top 10 marathon times in 5-year age groups were obtained. Men were faster than women for freestyle (12.4 ± 4.2%), backstroke (12.8 ± 3.0%), and breaststroke (14.5 ± 3.2%), with the greatest sex differences for butterfly (16.7 ± 5.5%). The sex difference in swimming velocity increased across world record place for freestyle (P < 0.001), breaststroke, and butterfly for all age groups and distances (P < 0.001) because of a greater relative drop-off between first and 10th place for women. The sex difference in marathon running increased with the world record place and the sex difference for marathon running was greater than for swimming (P < 0.001). The sex difference in swimming increased with world record place and age, but was less than for marathon running. Collectively, these results suggest more depth in women's swimming than marathon running.
It is unknown whether or not the daily swim training distances of master swimmers (MS) affects the observed changes in skeletal muscle mass (SM) and physical function commonly associated with the aging process. Twenty-two male master swimmers aged 52-82 years were divided into two groups based upon training distance: High-MS (>3000 m swim/session and 4.1 times/wk; n=11) and Moderate-MS (1500~2800 m swim/session and 3.4 times/wk; n=11). Eleven age- and body mass index-matched older (aged 56-80 years) men served as controls (AMC). Subjects who performed resistance training were excluded in this study. Muscle thickness (MTH) was measured by ultrasound at 9 sites on the anterior/posterior aspects of the body (forearm, upper arm, trunk, thigh and lower leg), and from this, total and segmental SM mass was estimated. Thigh MTH (anterior:posterior mid-thigh, A50:P50) ratio was calculated in order to assess the site-specific thigh muscle loss. Straight and zigzag walking performance and maximum knee extension/flexion strength was also measured. Arm SM was greater for High-MS and Mod-MS than for AMC. Total SM index was higher for High-MS than for Moderate-MS and AMC. A50:P50 ratio was greater for High-MS than for AMC. Absolute and relative knee extension strength, but not flexion strength, were greater in High-MS than in AMC. The A50:P50 ratio inversely correlated (p<0.05) with zigzag walking time while relative knee extension strength positively correlated (p<0.05) with both straight and zigzag walking performance. Training distance in older master swimmers may be an important factor for maintaining muscle mass and function in the aging process.
A rapidly increasing proportion of people in high-income countries are surviving into their tenth decade. Concern is widespread that the basis for this development is the survival of frail and disabled elderly people into very old age. To investigate this issue, we compared the cognitive and physical functioning of two cohorts of Danish nonagenarians, born 10 years apart.
People in the first cohort were born in 1905 and assessed at age 93 years (n=2262); those in the second cohort were born in 1915 and assessed at age 95 years (n=1584). All cohort members were eligible irrespective of type of residence. Both cohorts were assessed by surveys that used the same design and assessment instrument, and had almost identical response rates (63%). Cognitive functioning was assessed by mini-mental state examination and a composite of five cognitive tests that are sensitive to age-related changes. Physical functioning was assessed by an activities of daily living score and by physical performance tests (grip strength, chair stand, and gait speed).
The chance of surviving from birth to age 93 years was 28% higher in the 1915 cohort than in the 1905 cohort (6·50% vs 5·06%), and the chance of reaching 95 years was 32% higher in 1915 cohort (3·93% vs 2·98%). The 1915 cohort scored significantly better on the mini-mental state examination than did the 1905 cohort (22·8 [SD 5·6] vs 21·4 [6·0]; p<0·0001), with a substantially higher proportion of participants obtaining maximum scores (28-30 points; 277 [23%] vs 235 [13%]; p<0·0001). Similarly, the cognitive composite score was significantly better in the 1915 than in the 1905 cohort (0·49 [SD 3·6] vs 0·01 [SD 3·6]; p=0·0003). The cohorts did not differ consistently in the physical performance tests, but the 1915 cohort had significantly better activities of daily living scores than did the 1905 cohort (2·0 [SD 0·8] vs 1·8 [0·7]; p<0·0001).
Despite being 2 years older at assessment, the 1915 cohort scored significantly better than the 1905 cohort on both the cognitive tests and the activities of daily living score, which suggests that more people are living to older ages with better overall functioning.
Danish National Research Foundation; US National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Aging; Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation; VELUX Foundation.
Little research has examined ultra-endurance swimming performances. The 'English Channel Swim', where swimmers have to cover a distance of 32 km between England and France represents a unique long-distance, open-water, sea-swimming challenge, and each year swimmers from all over the world try to succeed in this challenge. The best times in minutes and the nationality of successful men and women swimmers were analysed from 1900 to 2010. A total of 1,533 swimmers (455 women and 1,078 men) from more than 40 countries have successfully completed the 'English Channel Swim'. Great Britain was the country most represented, with 38% of the total, followed by the United States with 20%. Swim speed has increased progressively for both sexes (P < 0.001) but was lower for women than for men (0.68 ± 0.15 m · s⁻¹ vs 0.71 ± 0.16 m · s⁻¹ respectively, P < 0.01). However, the best annual performances did not differ between the sexes (men: 0.89 ± 0.20 m · s⁻¹; women: 0.84 ± 0.18 m · s⁻¹, P > 0.05). The results suggest that the performance of women open-water ultra-distance swimmers may be similar to that of men. Further studies investigating anthropometrical and physiological characteristics of open-water ultra-swimmers are needed to compare men's and women's open-water ultra-swim performances.
Body mass changes during ultra-endurance performances have been described for running, cycling and for swimming in a heated pool. The present field study of 20 male and 11 female open-water swimmers investigated the changes in body composition and hydration status during an ultra-endurance event. Body mass, both estimated fat mass and skeletal muscle mass, haematocrit, plasma sodium concentration ([Na+]) and urine specific gravity were determined. Energy intake, energy expenditure and fluid intake were estimated. Males experienced significant reductions in body mass (-0.5 %) and skeletal muscle mass (-1.1 %) (P < 0.05) during the race compared to females who showed no significant changes with regard to these variables (P > 0.05). Changes in percent body fat, fat mass, and fat-free mass were heterogeneous and did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05) between gender groups. Fluid intake relative to plasma volume was higher in females than in males during the ultra-endurance event. Compared to males, females' average increase in haematocrit was 3.3 percentage points (pp) higher, urine specific gravity decrease 0.1 pp smaller, and plasma [Na+] 1.3 pp higher. The observed patterns of fluid intake, changes in plasma volume, urine specific gravity, and plasma [Na+] suggest that, particularly in females, a combination of fluid shift from blood vessels to interstitial tissue, facilitated by skeletal muscle damage, as well as exercise-associated hyponatremia had occurred. To summarise, changes in body composition and hydration status are different in male compared to female open-water ultra-endurance swimmers.
We investigated the prevalence of exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) in 25 male and 11 female open-water ultra-endurance swimmers participating in the 'Marathon-Swim' in Lake Zurich, Switzerland, covering a distance of 26.4 km. Changes in body mass, fat mass, skeletal muscle mass, total body water, urine specific gravity, plasma sodium concentration [Na(+)] and haematocrit were determined. Two males (8%) and four females (36%) developed EAH where one female was symptomatic with plasma sodium [Na(+)] of 127 mmol/L. Body mass and plasma [Na(+)] decreased (p < 0.05). The changes in body mass correlated in both male and female swimmers to post-race plasma [Na(+)] (r = -0.67, p = 0.0002 and r = -0.80, p = 0.0034, respectively) and changes in plasma [Na(+)] (r = -0.68, p = 0.0002 and r = -0.79, p = 0.0039, respectively). Fluid intake was neither associated with changes in body mass, post-race plasma [Na(+)] or the change in plasma [Na(+)]. Sodium intake showed no association with either the changes in plasma [Na(+)] or post-race plasma [Na(+)]. We concluded that the prevalence of EAH was greater in female than in male open-water ultra-endurance swimmers.
In many developed countries, life expectancy at birth is higher than in the United States. Newly available data permit, for the first time, reliable cross-national comparisons of mortality among persons 80 years of age or older. Such comparisons are important, because in many developed countries more than half of women and a third of men now die after the age of 80.
We used extinct-cohort methods to assess mortality in Japan, Sweden, France, and England (including Wales) and among U.S. whites for cohorts born from 1880 to 1894, and used cross-sectional data for the year 1987. Extinct-cohort methods rely on continuously collected data from death certificates and do not use the less reliable data from censuses.
In the United States, life expectancy at the age of 80 and survival from the ages of 80 to 100 significantly exceeded life expectancy in Sweden, France, England, and Japan (P < 0.01). This finding was confirmed with accurate cross-sectional data for 1987. The average life expectancy in the United States is 9.1 years for 80-year-old white women and 7.0 years for 80-year-old white men.
For people 80 years old or older, life expectancy is greater in the United States than it is in Sweden, France, England, and Japan. This finding suggests that elderly Americans are receiving better health care than the elderly citizens of other developed countries.
Plausible projections of future mortality and disability are a useful aid in decisions on priorities for health research, capital investment, and training. Rates and patterns of ill health are determined by factors such as socioeconomic development, educational attainment, technological developments, and their dispersion among populations, as well as exposure to hazards such as tobacco. As part of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), we developed three scenarios of future mortality and disability for different age-sex groups, causes, and regions.
We used the most important disease and injury trends since 1950 in nine cause-of-death clusters. Regression equations for mortality rates for each cluster by region were developed from gross domestic product per person (in international dollars), average number of years of education, time (in years, as a surrogate for technological change), and smoking intensity, which shows the cumulative effects based on data for 47 countries in 1950-90. Optimistic, pessimistic, and baseline projections of the independent variables were made. We related mortality from detailed causes to mortality from a cause cluster to project more detailed causes. Based on projected numbers of deaths by cause, years of life lived with disability (YLDs) were projected from different relation models of YLDs to years of life lost (YLLs). Population projections were prepared from World Bank projections of fertility and the projected mortality rates.
Life expectancy at birth for women was projected to increase in all three scenarios; in established market economies to about 90 years by 2020. Far smaller gains in male life expectancy were projected than in females; in formerly socialist economies of Europe, male life expectancy may not increase at all. Worldwide mortality from communicable maternal, perinatal, and nutritional disorders was expected to decline in the baseline scenario from 17.2 million deaths in 1990 to 10.3 million in 2020. We projected that non-communicable disease mortality will increase from 28.1 million deaths in 1990 to 49.7 million in 2020. Deaths from injury may increase from 5.1 million to 8.4 million. Leading causes of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) predicted by the baseline model were (in descending order): ischaemic heart disease, unipolar major depression, road-traffic accidents, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, war injuries, diarrhoeal diseases, and HIV. Tobacco-attributable mortality is projected to increase from 3.0 million deaths in 1990 to 8.4 million deaths in 2020.
Health trends in the next 25 years will be determined mainly by the ageing of the world's population, the decline in age-specific mortality rates from communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional disorders, the spread of HIV, and the increase in tobacco-related mortality and disability. Projections, by their nature, are highly uncertain, but we found some robust results with implications for health policy.
Old-age survival has increased substantially since 1950. Death rates decelerate with age for insects, worms, and yeast, as
well as humans. This evidence of extended postreproductive survival is puzzling. Three biodemographic insights—concerning
the correlation of death rates across age, individual differences in survival chances, and induced alterations in age patterns
of fertility and mortality—offer clues and suggest research on the failure of complicated systems, on new demographic equations
for evolutionary theory, and on fertility-longevity interactions. Nongenetic changes account for increases in human life-spans
to date. Explication of these causes and the genetic license for extended survival, as well as discovery of genes and other
survival attributes affecting longevity, will lead to even longer lives.
Sarcopenia refers to the loss of skeletal muscle mass with age. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia in a population of older, community-dwelling research volunteers.
Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry in 195 women aged 64 to 93 years and 142 men aged 64 to 92 years. We defined sarcopenia as appendicular skeletal muscle mass/height(2) (square meters) less than 2 standard deviations below the mean for young, healthy reference populations. We used two different reference populations and compared prevalence in our population to that reported in previous studies. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and physical activity and performance were measured with the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, the Short Physical Performance Battery, and the Physical Performance Test. We measured health-related quality of life by using the SF-36 general health survey. Serum estrone, estradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin, parathyroid hormone, and 25-hydroxy vitamin D were measured in all participants and bioavailable testosterone was measured only in men. Leg press strength and leg press power were determined in men.
The prevalence of sarcopenia in our cohort was 22.6% in women and 26.8% in men. A subgroup analysis of women and men 80 years or older revealed prevalence rates of 31.0% and 52.9%, respectively. In women, skeletal muscle mass correlated significantly with BMI and levels of serum estrone, estradiol, and 25-hydroxy vitamin D; in men, it correlated significantly with BMI, single leg stance time, leg press strength, leg press power, SF-36 general health score, Physical Performance Test total score, and bioavailable testosterone levels. With the use of linear regression analysis, BMI was the only predictor of appendicular skeletal muscle mass in women, accounting for 47.9% of the variance (p <.05). In men, BMI accounted for 50.1%, mean strength accounted for 10.3%, mean power accounted for 4.1%, and bioavailable testosterone accounted for 2.6% of the variance in appendicular skeletal muscle mass (p <.05).
Sarcopenia is common in adults over the age of 65 years and increases with age. BMI is a strong predictor of skeletal muscle mass in women and men. Strength, power, and bioavailable testosterone are further contributors in men. These data suggest that interventions to target nutrition, strength training, and testosterone replacement therapy should be further investigated for their role in preventing muscle loss with age.
Although cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown age-related changes in body composition and fat distribution, they may be related to body weight changes. The aim of this study was to evaluate yearly age-related changes in body composition and fat distribution, over a two-year period, in 101 women and 60 men (age range: 68 to 78 years at baseline).
Body composition was evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and fat distribution by waist and hip circumferences and waist-to-hip circumference ratio. Baseline free testosterone, IGF-1 and serum albumin were evaluated in all subjects, as well as physical activity. Clinical evaluation was performed at baseline and yearly in order to exclude subjects with any condition inducing pathological changes in body composition or fat distribution. Subjects with a weight change > 5% of their baseline body weight during the study period, were excluded.
Significant increases occurred in Body Mass Index (BMI) (1.18% in women, 1.13% in men), waist (1.75% in women, 1.39% in men), and hip circumference (1.06% in women, 1.31% in men), whereas height decreased significantly in both men (0.42%) and women (0.55%). Significant increases in total body fat (1.31%) and percent body fat (1.27%) were observed in women but not in men. Lean body mass did not change significantly throughout the study in either sex. Significant losses in leg muscle mass and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM), calculated as the sum of arm and leg fat-free soft tissue, were observed in men (respectively 3.56 and 2.77%) and women (respectively 2.41 and 1.59%). A significant decrease in ASM adjusted by stature (ASM/height2), a proposed proxy for sarcopenia, was found in men only (1.97%). The rates of loss in leg muscle mass and appendicular muscle mass were significantly higher in men than in women, even after adjusting for free testosterone, IGF-1, physical activity and serum albumin.
These data demonstrate significant changes in body composition and fat distribution in independently living, weight-stable elderly men and women. These changes are dependent on sex and independent of physical activity, hormones or serum albumin.
Open-water swimming (5, 10, and 25 km) has many unique challenges that separate it from other endurance sports, like marathon running and cycling. The characteristics of a successful open-water swimmer are unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the physical and metabolic characteristics of a group of elite-level open-water swimmers. The open-water swimmers were participating in a 1-week training camp. Anthropometric, metabolic, and blood chemistry assessments were performed on the athletes. The swimmers had a VO(2)peak of 5.51 +/- 0.96 and 5.06 +/- 0.57 ml.kg(-1).min(-1) for males and females, respectively. Their lactate threshold (LT) occurred at a pace equal to 88.75% of peak pace for males and 93.75% for females. These elite open-water swimmers were smaller and lighter than competitive pool swimmers. They possess aerobic metabolic alterations that resulted in enhanced performance in distance swimming. Trainers and coaches should develop dry-land programs that will improve the athlete's muscular endurance. Furthermore, programs should be designed to increase the LT velocity as a percentage of peak swimming velocity.
Cross-sectional data have shown that sarcopenia and fat accumulation are associated with aging and can be limited by structured physical training. However, it is often difficult to maintain a long-term compliance to training programs. It is not clear whether leisure-time physical activity is effective in preventing sarcopenia and fat accumulation.
(i) To investigate longitudinal body composition changes in a population of elderly people in good apparent health. (ii) To evaluate the impact of leisure-time physical activity on muscle mass and characteristic as reflected by total body potassium per fat-free soft tissue (TBK/FFST), and on fat accumulation.
Longitudinal evaluation over 3 years, of body composition changes in 74 healthy men and 66 women, over 65 years old. Body fat and FFST were analyzed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and TBK by whole-body (40)K counter. Physical activity was analyzed by a specific questionnaire.
Despite a stable total body weight, FFST and appendicular skeletal muscle mass slightly decreased (-0.3+/-1.4 and -0.2+/-2.2 kg, P<0.01, respectively) as well as the TBK/FFST (-4.1+/-6.3 mmol/kg, P<0.001), over the 3-year period. Body fat increased significantly (0.6+/-2.2 kg, P<0.0001), and it accumulated mainly in the abdomen (0.4+/-1.5 kg, P<0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that body composition changes were related mainly to body weight changes. Nevertheless, positive linear correlations were observed between the degree of engagement in leisure-time physical activity and FFST (P<0.01), appendicular skeletal muscle mass (P<0.05), TBK/FFST (P<0.05), whereas negative correlation was observed with total and truncal fat (P<0.01).
Mild but significant decline in muscle mass and its TBK content, and body fat accumulation were observed over a 3-year period in healthy elderly subject: leisure-time physical activity does not seem to prevent them. However, a higher level of physical activity is associated with higher muscle mass and TBK content, and less total and truncal fat.
Body composition through adult life: Swedish reference data on body composition
- I Larsson
- L Lissner
- G Samuelson
- H Fors
- H Lantz
- I Näslund
- . . Bosaeus
Larsson, I., Lissner, L., Samuelson, G., Fors, H., Lantz, H., Näslund, I.,... Bosaeus, I. (2015). Body
composition through adult life: Swedish reference data on body composition. European Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, 69, 837-842.
Women reduced the sex difference in open-water ultra-distance swimming
- C A Rüst
- B Knechtle
- T Rosemann
- R Lepers
Rüst, C. A., Knechtle, B., Rosemann, T., & Lepers, R. (2014). Women reduced the sex difference in
open-water ultra-distance swimming La Traversée Internationale du Lac St-Jean, 1955-2012.
Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism, 39, 270-273.