Ultra-marathon running is associated with a wide range of significant changes in hematological parameters, several of which are injury related. To provide appropriate health care and intervention, the man who receives athletes on high frequent training program high intensity training programs must monitor their liver and gallbladder function.

Current body mass index (BMI) norms for children and adolescents are developed from a reference population that includes obese and slim subjects. The validity of these norms is influenced by the observed secular increase in body weight and BMI. We hypothesized that the performance of children in health-related physical fitness tests would be negatively related to increased BMIs, and therefore fitness tests might be used as criteria for developing a more appropriate set of BMI norms. We evaluated the existing data from a nation-wide fitness survey for students in Taiwan (444 652 boys and 433 555 girls) to examine the relationship between BMI and fitness tests. The fitness tests used included: an 800/1600-m run/walk; a standing long jump; bent-leg curl-ups; and a sit-and-reach test. The BMI percentiles developed from the subgroup whose test scores were better than the 'poor' quartile in all four tests were compared with those of the whole population and linked to the adult criteria for overweight and obesity. The BMIs were significantly related to the results of fitness testing. A total of 43% of students had scores better than the poorest quartile in all of their tests. The upper BMI percentile curves of this fitter subgroup were lower than those of the total population. The 85th and 95th BMI percentile values of the fitter 18-year-old-students (23.7 and 25.5 kg m(-2) for boys; 22.6 and 24.6 kg m(-2) for girls) linked well with the adult cut-off points of 23 and 25 kg m(-2), which have been recommended as the Asian criteria for adult overweight and obesity. Hence, the BMI norms for children and adolescents could be created from selected subgroups that have better physical fitness. We expect that the new norms based on this approach will be used not only to assess the current status of obesity or overweight, but also to encourage activity and exercise.

BackgroundThe decline in cognitive performance has been shown after fatiguing exercise. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) have been suggested to alleviate exercise-induced central fatigue. Arginine and citrulline could remove the excess NH3 accumulation accompanied with BCAA supplementation by increasing nitric oxide biosynthesis and/or urea cycle. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the combined supplementation of BCAA, arginine, and citrulline on central fatigue after three simulated matches in well-trained taekwondo athletes.MethodsIn a double-blind randomized cross-over design, 12 male taekwondo athletes performed two trials containing three simulated matches each. Each match contained three 2-min rounds of high-intensity intermittent exercise. At the end of the second match, two different supplementations were consumed. In the AA trial, the subjects ingested 0.17 g/kg BCAA, 0.05 g/kg arginine and 0.05 g/kg citrulline, while placebo was consumed in the PL trial. A validated taekwondo-specific reaction test battery was used to measure the cognitive performance after each match.ResultsThe premotor reaction time in the three single-task tests and the reaction time in the secondary task in the dual-task test were maintained in the AA trial after three matches, while they were impaired in the PL trial, resulting in significantly better performance in the AA trial. These improvements in the AA trial coincided with significantly lower plasma free tryptophan/BCAA ratio, increased NOx concentrations, and similar NH3 concentrations.ConclusionsThis study suggested that the combined supplementation could alleviate the exercise-induced central fatigue in elite athletes.

This study investigated the effects of auricular acupuncture on athletes' recovery abilities after exercise. Subjects were selected from twenty-four male elite university basketball players, randomly divided into two groups: auricular acupuncture group (AAG), and normal control group (NCG), each group containing twelve subjects. Auricular acupuncture was experimented to each AAG athlete while no auricular acupuncture was conducted to each NCG athlete. Each subject in both groups performed a ride on the stationary bike until exhausted. The data of heart rate (HR(max)), oxygen consumption (VO(2 max)), and blood lactic acid were measured at four points of time: during the rest period after warm-ups and at the 5th, 30th and 60th minutes post-exercise, respectively. One-way ANOVA and repeated Scheffé methods were used to test the differences of the data between these two groups. The results showed that both HR(max) and blood lactic acid in AAG were significantly lower than those in NCG at the 30th and 60th minutes post-exercise. This suggests that auricular acupuncture can enhance athletes' recovery abilities after aggressive exercise.

Background To investigate the differences in body composition and metabolic syndrome (MS) under a daily 12,000-step strategy with or without moderate-intensity walking exercise in college students with obesity. Methods Thirty-two adults with obesity (mean (s.d.) age: 19.72 (0.80) years; height: 165.38 (3.99) cm; wt: 83.31 (4.66) kg; body mass index: 30.38 (0.83) kg m − 2 ) were recruited and randomly assigned to the walking step goal group (WSG; achieving 12,000 steps per day), walking exercise group (WEG; achieving 12,000 steps per day, including 3 days per week on which walking at a step rate of over 103 steps min − 1 was required), or control group (CG; maintaining a free-living life style). Each participant’s accumulated daily steps from daily activities and walking exercises were monitored using a smartwatch for 8 weeks. The variables of body composition and MS were measured before and after intervention. Results Average daily steps over 8 weeks did not significantly differ between the WSG and WEG (11,677.67 (480.24) vs. 12,131.90 (527.14) steps per day, respectively, P > .05). Although the CG and WSG showed no improvement in body composition, the WEG exhibited significant improvements in terms of hip circumference and visceral fat area (VFA) (∆ − 2.28 (3.27) cm and ∆ − 13.11 (9.83) cm 2 , respectively, P < .05); high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting glucose (FG), and triglycerides (TG) (∆ 16.36 (8.39), ∆ − 2.53 (3.73), and ∆ − 10.52 (36.26) mg dL − 1 , respectively, P < .05). The WSG exhibited improvements only in HDL-C (∆ 14.24 (16.13) mg dL − 1 , P < .05). Conclusion The combination of walking exercise program and daily step goal is a more time efficient strategy in improving body composition and MS than simply establishing a daily step goal. Furthermore, this strategy may also include a potential reduction effect on the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, number ACTR N12618001237279 (Retrospectively registered).