don@utzoo.uucp (Don Jackson) (10/07/88)
Don Gillies (gillies@cs.uiuc.edu) writes: >In general, world-class swimmers have a higher percentage of body fat >than almost every other type of endurance athlete. Why is this? There is a simple explanation for increased body fat in swimmers. Fat increases the bouyancy of the swimmer allowing for more stroke energy to be expended in propelling the swimmer forward rather than using energy (and time) to maintain the swimmer at the surface. Some optimal level of body fat should exist which increases the bouyancy while not sacrificing speed due to increased drag. Marathon runners do not need the additional baggage that increased body fat would cause and their performance would likely suffer as a result of having increased body fat concentrations. Additionally, for long-distances in cool water, increased body fat would provide additional insulation and minimize hypothermia.