Anthropometric, lifestyle and biomarker assessment of Japanese non-professional ultra-marathon runners.
BACKGROUND
Anthropometric characteristics, lifestyle, and baseline biological markers of Japanese non-professional ultra-marathon runners have not been fully assessed.


METHODS
We evaluated anthropometric characteristics, lifestyle, and baseline biological markers of 180 Japanese amateur ultra-marathon runners (144 males [mean age: 50.5 +/- 9.4 (standard deviation) years] and 36 females [48.9 +/- 6.9]), and compared them with those of participants in a community heath check-up program and with the figures in the literature. We furthermore evaluated baseline blood indices according to monthly running distance with analysis of variance adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking habits.


RESULTS
The ultra-marathon runners demonstrated more favorable values for body mass index and bone density, and the proportion of smoking, and undertaking physical activity (for both sexes), eating breakfast (for males), and having daily bowel movements (for females), while greater proportion of alcohol drinking habit (for both sexes), than the comparison group. Average monthly running distances and standard deviations (km) were 257.2 +/- 128.9 for males and 209.0 +/- 86.2 for females. Male runners possessed beneficial markers, including lowered triglyceride and elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and their values showed hockey-stick (or inverse hockey-stick) patterns depending on their monthly running distance. Some subjects running more than 300 km/month exhibited signs of an over-reaching/training syndrome, including somewhat lowered hemoglobin, ferritin and white blood cell count, and elevated creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase.


CONCLUSIONS
Together with a desirable lifestyle, Japanese non-professional ultra-marathon runners with vigorous exercise habit demonstrated a preferable health status according to biological indices.
Department of Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.
Shinkan
S
Tokudome
Kiyonori
K
Kuriki
Norihiro
N
Yamada
Hiromitsu
H
Ichikawa
Machiko
M
Miyata
Kiyoshi
K
Shibata
Hideki
H
Hoshino
Shinji
S
Tsuge
Mizuho
M
Tokudome
Chiho
C
Goto
Yuko
Y
Tokudome
Masaaki
M
Kobayashi
Hideyuki
H
Goto
Sadao
S
Suzuki
Yoshihiro
Y
Okamoto
Masato
M
Ikeda
Yuzo
Y
Sato
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013178:Sports Medicine; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D015415:Biomarkers