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The associations between digit ratio, aerobic fitness, physical skills, and overall physical fitness of elite youth distance runners
Author(s) -
Lombardo Michael P.,
Otieno Sango
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23448
Subject(s) - physical fitness , aerobic exercise , treadmill , physical therapy , multi stage fitness test , vo2 max , test (biology) , aerobic capacity , cardiorespiratory fitness , vertical jump , medicine , jump , heart rate , biology , blood pressure , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics
Objective Lower digit ratios between the lengths of fingers 2 (2D) and 4 (4D) (2D:4D) are associated with superior distance running and athletic performance. We examined relationships between 2D:4D, aerobic fitness, physical skills, and overall physical fitness of elite adolescent boy and girl distance runners. Methods Subjects were top five finishers for their sex and age in 10 or more races of 10 km or longer in Michigan in 1981. We calculated 2D:4D of 15 girls and 11 boys from radiographs. Subject peak O 2 consumption (VO 2Peak ), ventilatory threshold (VT), and point of equivalent change (PEC) were collected during intermittent treadmill protocol tests. Performances on physical skills tests (flex‐arm hang, broad jump, vertical jump, figure‐8‐run, sit ups, and sit‐and‐reach test) were collected in the laboratory. We examined the interrelationships between 2D:4D, subject sex, aerobic fitness, physical skills test performance, and overall physical fitness, a composite of aerobic and physical skills performance with correlation, linear regression, t tests, and principle component analyses. Results Girls had significantly larger right hand (R) 2D:4D than boys. Boys had greater VO 2Peak by mass than girls. Boys with lower R2D:4D had significantly greater VO 2Peak and PEC. Girls with lower R2D:4D had significantly greater VT. Factors associated with aerobic fitness explained most of the variation in composite physical fitness scores. Composite aerobic fitness, physical skills, and overall physical fitness scores of boys were negatively correlated with R2D:4D. Conclusions These data suggest that R2D:4D may help predict distance running performance in girls and boys and overall physical fitness in boys and provide additional insights into the innate factors influencing youth physical fitness.