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Since many top swimmers wearing Speedo LZR Racer swimsuits have broken world records, it is considered that the corset-like grip of suit supports the swimmers to maintain flexibility of movement and reducing water resistance. We propose an alternative mechanism to explain this phenomenon. The suits are so tight that the blood circulation of swimmers is suppressed. This effect accelerates the anaerobic glycolysis system but rather suppresses the aerobic mitochondrial respiration system. Because of the prompt production of ATP in the glycolysis system, the swimmers, especially in short distance competitions, obtain instantaneous force in white fibers of the skeletal muscles.Many top swimmers wearing Speedo LZR Racer swimsuits (Speedo International Limited, Nottingham, England) have broken world records. Both swimsuit manufacture personnel and other researchers believe the characteristics of LZR Racer to be as follows: the corset-like grip of the suit supports and holds the swimmers so they can maintain the best body position in the water without losing flexibility of movement. Furthermore, this high-speed swimsuit makes the surface of swimmer's body very flat and smooth, thus reducing water resistance. These are believed to be the reasons why swimmers wearing the LZR Racer can set new records. In addition to these conventional opinions, we propose an alternative mechanism to explain the characteristics of LZR Racer suits, namely, that LZR Racer suits are so tight that the blood circulation of the swimmers is suppressed. Humans and other living beings produce energy through the following two systems (Table 1): the anaerobic glycolysis system (oxgen-independent adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis) and the aerobic mitochondrial respiration system (oxgen-dependent ATP synthesis) (5). It is known that the former system does not produce ATP as effectively as the latter system. However, the former produces ATP much more quickly than the later. Comparing the speed of the two types of ATP production, the glycolysis system is known to be almost 100 times faster than the mitochondrial system (5). The glycolysis system is for obtaining instantaneous force in white fibers (fast-twitch type II fiber) of skeletal muscles, while the mitochondrial system is for realization of sustainable force in neurons, cardiac muscle and red fibers (slow-twitch type I fiber) of skeletal muscles (2, 3). LZR Racer suits tighten the body, which suppresses the bloodstream. This results in activation of the glycolysis system and induces instantaneous force in the body (1). In fact, swimmers wearing LZR Racer suits have established new world records mainly in short distance competitions such as 50 m or 100 m races, new records being found in the races of no more than 400 m. If low drag and water repellency were the main factors, more new world records in longer distance races should have been established by

In a series of our recent studies, stress was found to induce simultaneously hypothermia and hyperglycemia. These conditions are beneficial to obtain prompt force which depends on the glycolysis pathway and to escape emergency. Since we have noticed that such conditions resemble the internal environment seen in some cancer patients, it was investigated whether such conditions were accompanied with other patients. We selected patients with early and advanced cancer. Body temperature and other parameters including blood gas contents were examined. A difference was seen in body temperature, namely, many patients showed hypothermia, irrespective of cancer stages. Further characterization of other parameters showed that hypothermia and hyperglycemia existed in many patients. They had immunosuppressive state and anemia. Blood gas analysis showed that oxygen contents were low and carbon dioxide contents were high in patients. These results suggest a possibility that the internal environment seen in patients is responsible to induce onset of disease and to maintain their cell growth, because cancer cells have an energy system of predominant glycolysis. Although hypothermia, hypoxia and hyperglycemia are important to activate the glycolysis pathway and to escape from emergency, such responses suppress the mitochondrial pathway for long span and may result in carcinogenesis.