Sex Differences in the Health Status of Endurance Runners: Results From the NURMI Study (Step 2)

Boldt, P, Knechtle, B, Nikolaidis, P, Lechleitner, C, Wirnitzer, G, Leitzmann, C, and Wirnitzer, K. Sex differences in the health status of endurance runners: results from the NURMI study (step 2). J Strength Cond Res 33(7): 1929–1940, 2019—Optimized endurance performance is closely linked to a good health status (HS), which is crucially affected by sex. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in the HS of endurance runners of different distances. A total of 281 female and male recreational runners completed an online survey. Health status included body mass, smoking habits, felt stress, chronic diseases, allergies, intolerances, medication intake, supplement intake, health-related food choice, enhancement substance use, and health care utilization. Data analysis was performed using the independent t-test and chi-squared test with Cohen's d and Cramer's phi (φ) to evaluate the magnitude of the differences and associations. There were 159 female and 122 male participants, with 173 runners meeting the inclusion criteria, among them 103 half-marathoners, and 70 marathoners and ultramarathoners, of which one hundred eight 10-km runners were defined as the control group. Statistical significance (p 0.05) between sex and body mass change because of a change in diet, smoking habits, felt stress, chronic diseases except hypothyroidism, allergies, food intolerances, intake of antihypertensives and cholesterol-lowering medication, intake of performa...
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research