Body composition in male lifelong trained strength, sprint and endurance athletes and healthy age-matched controls

Introduction:

Aging involves many physiological processes that lead to decreases in muscle mass and increases in fat mass. While regular exercise can counteract such negative body composition outcomes, masters athletes maintain high levels of exercise throughout their lives. This provides a unique model to assess the impact of inherent aging. The present study compared lean mass and fat mass in young and masters athletes from different sports to age-matched non-athletic individuals.

Methods:

Participants included young (20–39 years, n = 109) and older (70–89 years, n = 147) competitive male athletes, and 147 healthy age-matched controls (young = 53, older = 94 males). Athletes were separated into strength (e.g., weightlifters, powerlifters), sprint (e.g., sprint runners, jumpers) and endurance (e.g., long-distance runners, cross-country skiers) athletic disciplines. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Upper and lower limb lean mass was combined for appendicular lean mass as well as appendicular lean mass index (ALMI; kg/m2). Individuals’ scores were assessed against established cut-offs for low muscle mass, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity to determine prevalence in each group.

Results:

ALMI was greater in young strength (0.81–2.36 kg/m2, ∼15% and 1.24–2.74 kg/m2, ∼19%) and sprint (95% CI = 0.51–1.61 kg/m2, ∼11% and 0.96–1.97 kg/m2, ∼15%) athletes than in endurance and controls, respectively (all P , ∼9% and 0.73–1.67 kg/m, ∼13%, respectively, both  

This research examines body composition differences in trained athletes versus non-athletic controls.