The comparison of body composition were studied between 52 nonathletic students and 67 athletic students (weignt lifting, crew, soccer and hockey), aged 18 to 27 years. Boby density determinations were made by water displacement, and the skinfolds were measured at the pressure of 10gm/mm² with a Minnesota caliper model.
The results were as follows:
(1) Mean skinfolds were thinner in athletes than in nonathletes at each of various sites measured. The sum values of three sites (arm, back and abdomen) for athletes of each team were 60 to 70% of the value for nonathletes.
(2) Mean values of the body density for athletic teams were high, ranging from 1, 073 to 1, 077, as against 1, 069 for nonathletes. The body fats calculated from body density were 8.6 to 10.3% for athletes and 11.7% for nonathletes.
(3) When the lean body mass was compared in terms of the relative value of “fat-free weight/height”, the value showed characteristically more marked difference between athletes and nonathletes (31.9 to 36.7 as against 30.8), than in simple comparison of the relative body weight. This index is available for evaluation of active tissue mass individually.
(4) The values of “(upper arm girth/π)-(upper arm skinfold)” calculated to evaluate the muscular development were greater in athletic teams (7.30 to 8.20cm as against 6.74cm).
(5) The basal metabolism per square meter were 10 to 20% higher in athletic teams, though when it was represented per “fat-free” weight(kg), the difference was reduced to about 7%.

View full abstract

The effects of different kinds of oils and fats on growth in rats was investigated. One hundred White Wistar _??_ rats were placed on a basic low fat diet and diets supplemented with the following fats at the 20% (wt.) level: soya bean oil, cotton seed oil, safflower oil, rice bran oil, rape seed oil, butter, lard, tallow and hardened fish oil. The animals were sacrificed on the 15th week after receiving respective diets. Each group consisted of 10 rats. Growth at 15 weeks was highest in the soya bean group with butter following. The fish oil group showed lowest growth. Animals on both the fish oil and rape seed oil diets showed lower growth than the low fat group. Difference in weight between the highest and lowest group was 45g. There was little difference among other groups. With expection of the low fat group intake appeared to be proportional to growth, being high in the soya bean oil, butter groups and low in the rape seed and hardened fish oil groups. Intake was highest in the low fat group but diet efficiency was lowest. Enlargement of the liver, adrenal and thyroid glands was observed in the fish oil and rapeseed oil groups.
Serum cholesterol was also examined. The level for soya bean oil was low, whereas butter gave a relatively high result.
Learning performance on the maze was studied. The fish oil group gave highest scores. Though the reason is not yet clarified, it was recognized that a low body weight seems to give better results.

View full abstract