World Class Athletes and Longevity

Triathlon Forum
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Hello All,

I was curious about whether elite runners who are about 10 to 15% lighter in weight than an average person live longer than average according to the CR (caloric restriction) theory of Clive McCay.

(The increased exercise could also affect their longevity - but studies show exercise increases ‘health span’ but not longevity - compressing aging diseases closer to death.)

I found this article but I am not familar with the authority of the source and it adresses athletes in general.

http://strengthplanet.com/other/15-surprising-facts-about-world-class-athletes.htm

Fair use excerpts:

1. What are the chances of becoming a world class athlete?
Actually, not very good. Less then one percent of all athletes who participate in competitive sports ever reaches an elite level. As an example, consider the odds of making it in professional basketball. Each year approximately 250,000 high school seniors participate in inter-scholastic basketball. Of these seniors, approximately 12,000 will receive college scholarships. Out of that 12,000 around 200 players will be drafted by the N.B.A.; but only about 50 will actually be offered a contract. Of these fifty, only five will eventually earn a starting position. Of these five, only two will stay in the N.B.A. for more then five years. Unfortunately the odds of making it big in any other sport are not much better.

2. What does it take to reach a world class level?
According to John Lather, a renowned sports researcher, the number one variable related to elite performance is time spent in training. Lather estimates that 20 hours of quality training per week for a period of eight years (approximately 10,000 cumulative hours) appears to be the amount of work required to reach a world class level. Lather emphasizes that it is 20 hours of quality training - with great intensity, not just the time spent in training that is required for elite performance.

3**. How many hours do world class athletes train?**
It has been established that the average world class athlete trains approximately 23 hours a week. Interestingly, the average athlete in America trains approximately 12 hours a week.

6. Are world class athletes intelligent?
In general, superior athletes possess average and above average l.Q.fs. For example, in a recent study of the intelligence levels of elite athletes in Europe, their average l.Q. was found to be 112 (S.D. 9.0). In similar studies conducted in America, the l.Q. of superior athletes ranged on average from 96 to 107.

8. How long do world class athletes play their sport?
The average world class athlete retires from his sport at the age of 33. Incredibly, the average NFL player is retired by the age of 28, the average world class wrestler by 24, and the average elite gymnast by 19.

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

10. What is the marital status of world class athletes?
Elite athletes marry at about the same rate (73%) as everyone else, but their divorce rate is considerably higher. A recent study revealed that 57% of the marriages of elite athletes ends in divorce. It might also be noted that many of these divorces take place during the first year following retirement. For example, the NFL Players Association estimates that during the first year following termination, 50% of the marriages of ex-professional football players end in divorce.

11. Are world Class athletes sexually active?
Yes! According to studies conducted by Philip Whitten and Elizabeth Whiteside, the average world class athlete engages in sexual intercourse 3.4 times a week. That frequency is significantly higher then Alfred Kinsey reported for men and women of the same age (20fs and 30fs). According to Kinsey most people in that age bracket engage in sexual coitus 7 times a month and/or 1.7 times a week.

15. Are world class athletes highly respected?
In general, yes. However, there is considerable research which indicates that the normal population tends to perceive elite athletes as being egotistical, aggressive, and intellectually inferior. Also, there is a linear relationship between performance and acclamation. In other words, accolades are contingent upon performance - no performance - no accolades. Many athletes in retirement find this very phenomenon a bitter pill to swallow.

Article Source: Iron Curtain Labs

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Neal, can you please provide a link to the article and edit your post to not be a cut-n-paste of the entirety of the article. As you’ve written your posts, it’s basically a copyright violation.

You can post a relevant snippet from the article and a link, but you can’t post the whole article and certainly can’t do so without a link.

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Hello Rappstar and All,

Good point - edited as requested.

Good luck at IMAZ!

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html#howmuch

How much of someone else’s work can I use without getting permission?

Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians.

Cheers,

Neal

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Thanks Neal. Dan, Herbert, and I generally go off the judgement call of “what amount of our content would we be okay with having put on another site’s forum?” As it says, there are no rules. But limited to me certainly implies something less than 100% and there’s certainly the issue of proper citation, which is a separate topic from fair use. I think the MLA does a pretty good job of what’s appropriate there.

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What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

Hmmm. Perhaps that was written by a world class athlete – it sure wasn’t written by a world class biostatistician, epidemiologist, or demographer.

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What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

Hmmm. Perhaps that was written by a world class athlete – it sure wasn’t written by a world class biostatistician, epidemiologist, or demographer.

there was an article in procycling which quoted research that found pro cyclists on the average had a 10 year shorter lifespan than non-athletes.crashes, drug use, heart failure due to drug use, recreational drug use related to use of performance improving drugs, suicide caused by depression and/or drug use were listed as explaining factors.

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I’m keenly following the aging process of guys like Dave Scott, PNF, Mark Allen, Welchy, Molina and Tinley…as well Monty. These athletes (and the rest of us to a much lesser degree) are human guinea pigs cause I don’t think we really know the effects of all the years of hard training on the body, general health and lifespan. So far, all of the above seem to be doing better than the average peers in their age group. I think Molina is the only one still doing Ironmans, and it seems Allen and Tinley are quite fit doing a moderate amount of exercise. Dave Scott might not do Ironmans, but from what he writes, appears to do more activity than most people his age. I think Monty and Welchy are the only ones with a heart issue (Monty has said he has a pace maker)?

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I also like Dev am keenly follwing the aging process of guys like big 4 . I do believe all have suffered issues. i know Dave Scott has sufered from foot issues,Molina as well. I also believe that Tinley had a major hip surgery9 not sure if it was replacement. Face it to race as an elite in this game is brutal or was brutal. With the knowledg of of the first generation how will the second generation fare?
Here is a brief clip from Jack daniels on maximizing performance with age.http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234673-saucony-thirsty-thursdays-with-jack-daniels/360930-5-maximizing-performances-with-age-thirsty-thurdsays

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I’m keenly following the aging process of guys like Dave Scott, PNF, Mark Allen, Welchy, Molina and Tinley…as well Monty. These athletes (and the rest of us to a much lesser degree) are human guinea pigs cause I don’t think we really know the effects of all the years of hard training on the body, general health and lifespan. So far, all of the above seem to be doing better than the average peers in their age group. I think Molina is the only one still doing Ironmans, and it seems Allen and Tinley are quite fit doing a moderate amount of exercise. Dave Scott might not do Ironmans, but from what he writes, appears to do more activity than most people his age. I think Monty and Welchy are the only ones with a heart issue (Monty has said he has a pace maker)?

regarding heart issues, I know one triathlete who was top 20 a couple of times in the nineties. he has to use a pacemaker these days. not nice. don’t know if it´s genetical or has something to do with his training. also, if you remember, torbjörn sindballe had to quit due to heart issues. not nice at all.

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I had a friend who got in a car accident right after eating a cheeseburger. It was made clear to me that day that consumption of cheeseburgers will inevitably lead to an auto disaster. I now eat my burgers -ketchup only-.

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also, if you remember, torbjörn sindballe had to quit due to heart issues. not nice at all.

if i recall correctly, sindballe’s heart condition was congenital and had nothing to do with his athletic status. it just got discovered and he realized it was too risky to continue at the level he had reached.

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I was at a gathering for the track club that I ran for and with as a teenager a few years ago. Back then, mid to late '70s this club was the best distance running club in Canada. All of the distance running records in Canada at the time from the 800m right on up to the marathon were held by senior members of this club. Many of these men, no surprise also occupied places on Canada’s national track teams and Olympic Games team during the time. The Junior division of which I was a part of, also had many top ranked junior runners in the country. Collectively the club was an elite group that clearly trained very hard - the results speak for themselves.

It was interesting to note that 30 years on, that almost none of these guys ran any more and that many had various aches and pains and permanent physical issues.

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CR (caloric restriction) theory of Clive McCay.

I would be interesting to see how life long endurance athletes stack up here. Part of the theory as I understand it between what makes the CR diet work is that because the person is eating less food, they are exposed to less of the oxidation properties and actions related to the digestion, absorption and utilization of that food at the cellular level. It’s that oxidation of certain compounds at the cellular level that has been linked to cellular changes that can lead to “aging” and even pre-cancerous changes to the cell(s). Obviously the less food you eat the less exposure you have to this sort of thing. However, serious endurance athletes consume much higher volumes of food - to keep fueling the training, and thus by extension, would be exposing themselves to more potential for these negative oxidative changes to the various body cells.

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What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

Hmmm. Perhaps that was written by a world class athlete – it sure wasn’t written by a world class biostatistician, epidemiologist, or demographer.

there was an article in procycling which quoted research that found pro cyclists on the average had a 10 year shorter lifespan than non-athletes.crashes, drug use, heart failure due to drug use, recreational drug use related to use of performance improving drugs, suicide caused by depression and/or drug use were listed as explaining factors.
Hmmm. Perhaps that article was written by a world class cyclist. It sure wasn’t written by a world class biostatistican, epidemiologist, or demographer.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19574095

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The average world class athlete is 6Œ1 tall and weights 217 pounds. His chest is 43, arm 15.3, waist 31, legs 26.8,and calf 16.4\

I think this is an interesting study, but from the above quote I do not think it comes anywhere close to describing endurance athletes. And it appears from what I quickly read, that they are talking about retired athletes, which most of us here are not. I want to see the study of 150lbs endurance athletes that never stop training…Wait a minute, I think I’m in that study right now, I’ll let you know how it ends…(-;

Just from what I can see of the old guys and gals from my day that are still around, it appears that most are still doing something, and in better shape than 99+% of the general population of their respective AG’s…We do have some issues, heart, joint, chemical, ect. but in general it appears that our physical quality of life is at a very high level…We still have about 15+ more years in order to start drawing any longevitity conclusions, but so far so good…

And to Flecks example of old runners, Dan has an old group that meets every year now, and I believe that more than 1/2 that group still runs today. Perhaps he can elaborate, but they would be a good addition to my study, as they were all world class in their day…

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I’m keenly following the aging process of guys like Dave Scott, PNF, Mark Allen, Welchy, Molina and Tinley…as well Monty. These athletes (and the rest of us to a much lesser degree) are human guinea pigs cause I don’t think we really know the effects of all the years of hard training on the body, general health and lifespan. So far, all of the above seem to be doing better than the average peers in their age group. I think Molina is the only one still doing Ironmans, and it seems Allen and Tinley are quite fit doing a moderate amount of exercise. Dave Scott might not do Ironmans, but from what he writes, appears to do more activity than most people his age. I think Monty and Welchy are the only ones with a heart issue (Monty has said he has a pace maker)?

Without reading more than Nealhe’s original post and not the complete linked article (so correct me if it’s been addressed) - I think the longevity they talk about (all world class athletes) and the longevity you’re talking about (Tinley, Allen, Scott, PNF, etc) are going to be affected by COMPLETELY different factors.

The IM crowd have talked a lot about afib and other issues caused by racing when sick, going too hard for too long, etc etc. This sort of physiological stress is pretty unique to hard-core endurance sports. It doesn’t come into play in any team sports.

I would guess that the main factor bringing down longevity in the broader class of ‘elite athletes’ may just be a lifestyle trend? The athlete who ends their career young, never had to learn how to eat right or take care of themselves, and ends up less healthy than the average sedentary person but with the added bonus of trashed knees or any other number of lingering injury issues.

Anyway I think they’re apples and oranges.

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CR (caloric restriction) theory of Clive McCay.

I would be interesting to see how life long endurance athletes stack up here. Part of the theory as I understand it between what makes the CR diet work is that because the person is eating less food, they are exposed to less of the oxidation properties and actions related to the digestion, absorption and utilization of that food at the cellular level. It’s that oxidation of certain compounds at the cellular level that has been linked to cellular changes that can lead to “aging” and even pre-cancerous changes to the cell(s). Obviously the less food you eat the less exposure you have to this sort of thing. However, serious endurance athletes consume much higher volumes of food - to keep fueling the training, and thus by extension, would be exposing themselves to more potential for these negative oxidative changes to the various body cells.

That is also how I have seen it presented- in various sources (possibly by other researchers other than mccay?).

I’m not sure they can carry over the effects of a male on a 1200kcal/day diet to an elite runner who is always in a negative energy state but still consumes 3000kcal/day. The oxidative stress of exercise and the 3000 calories would still be immense, comparatively.

-Physiojoe

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Hello RChung and All, (For some reason I want to write ‘Chung Method’ … :slight_smile:

The Stanford Study speaks to runners but not elite runners or their weight.

http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/august/running.html

STANFORD, Calif. — Regular running slows the effects of aging, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine that has tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years. Elderly runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life and are half as likely as aging nonrunners to die early deaths, the research found.

“The study has a very pro-exercise message,” said James Fries, MD, an emeritus professor of medicine at the medical school and the study’s senior author. “If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise.” The new findings appear in the Aug. 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

When Fries and his team began this research in 1984, many scientists thought vigorous exercise would do older folks more harm than good. Some feared the long-term effect of the then-new jogging craze would be floods of orthopedic injuries, with older runners permanently hobbled by their exercise habit. Fries had a different hypothesis: he thought regular exercise would extend high-quality, disability-free life. Keeping the body moving, he speculated, wouldn’t necessarily extend longevity, but it would compress the period at the end of life when people couldn’t carry out daily tasks on their own. That idea came to be known as “the compression of morbidity theory.”

Cheers,

Neal

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The Stanford Study speaks to runners but not elite runners or their weight.

http://med.stanford.edu/.../august/running.html
Yeah. There’s an ongoing longitudinal study of former elite athletes in Finland. They’ve been tracking former Olympic athletes since about 1985. You can google or pubmed up something like “Finnish elite athletes health and longevity” to see a bunch of papers. What they’ve been finding is that these guys live longer and experience fewer and shorter hospitalizations.