Abstract

LATORRE-ROMAN, Pedro Ángel; IZQUIERDO-SANCHEZ, Jose Manuel; SALAS-SANCHEZ, Jesús  and  GARCIA-PINILLOS, Felipe. Comparative analysis between two models of active aging and its influence on body composition, strength levels and quality of life: long-distance runners versus bodybuilders practitioners. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2015, vol.31, n.4, pp.1717-1725. ISSN 1699-5198.  https://dx.doi.org/10.3305/nh.2015.31.4.8479.

Aim: To analyze the body composition, strength level, and the quality of life related to the health (QoL) in veteran sportsmen (>35 years old) in relation to sedentary ones (S), and to compare the result in the mentioned variables between two models of sports practice, long-distance runners (LDR) and bodybuilding practitioners (BBP). Methods: One hundred forty-eight male participants took part and were distributed into three groups: 47 LDR (age=42.01±6.96 years), 49 BBP (age=45.14±7.04 years), and 47 S (age=43.71±8.75 years). Body composition, upper- and lower-limb strength level, and QoL were assessed. Results: The LDR and BBP obtained better performance in countermovement jump (CMJ) than the S ones (+0.06 m, p<0.001). Significant differences were found in BMI and %fat mass, between BBP and S with relation to LDR (p<0.001). In relation to the effect of aging on body composition, the muscle mass is reduced in all groups controlled (LDR, BBP, and S). Additionally, the %fat mass is increased only in S group (p< 0.05). The CMJ performance is significantly reduced only in S group (-0.07 m, p<0.001). Conclusions: The results suggested that the LDR as a model of active aging showed healthier values in BMI and %fat mass as well as greater results in QoL than BBP and S groups. Nevertheless, the LDR group showed similar values to S ones in muscle mass. The regression analysis performed showed that the sedentary habit predicts the %fat mass and CMJ performance.

Keywords : Endurance athletes; Fitness; Health; Gym; Resistance training.

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