Proceeding
Iron Metabolism and the Optimal Exercise Level in Long-Distance Runners
1995 Volume 12 Pages 85-89
Details
1995 Volume 12 Pages 85-89
We have evaluated the distance of daily running and blood biochemical parameteres to prevent anemia in long-distance runners.
Blood was drawn early in the morning after an over-night fast. On blood tests, serum iron, ferritin, RBC, Hb, Ht and UIBC were measured, and MCV, MCH, and MCHC were calculated.
The distance of running was expressed as the monthly distance run in all running at or above the jogging pace (km/ month) irrespective of the intensity of running.
Case 1 : In 9 female runners on a company relay team with a mean age of 19. 7±3.2 years, the relationship between the running distance and the number of days on which they sought for medical consultation (number of day of treatment) was examined. The number of days of treatment increased markedly as the monthly distance of running in early morning practice exceeded 200 km/month in a few runners. It increased markedly when the distance of running in the afternoon practice exceeded 450 km/month.
Case 2 : In a 17-year-old male, the serum iron, ferritin, and Hb levels decreased to 45μg/dl, 40ng/dl, and 13.7g/dl, respectively, in the summer of the second grade in junior high school, when he noted weakness and poor performance. The ferritin concentration was maintained at 150 ng/dl or above until the second grade in high school due to treatment, but RBC and Hb showed marked decreases, and he lapsed into slump again. The patient had rested about once a month until that time, but he was instructed to rest every week. Oral administration of zinc was started, and observation is still continued.
Case 3 : A adult female middle-distance runner showed increases in RBC and Hb as well as stabilized records by decreasing her athletic quantity from passing 25 years of age.
The above results indicate the long-distance runner to be in over-training. Decreasing monthly running distance to about one-third, Z-3 times a year may lead to keep normal iron metabolism. Limiting exercise quantity to such an extent results in no decrease in athletic power.
