Abstract

Various blood and iron parameters were examined in a group of top class male and female swimmers who were compared with a physically active control group. The parameters examined were: red corpuscles (RC) haemoglobin concentration (Hb), haemocrit (Ht), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), sideraemia (S.I.), total iron binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation (Sat) ferritin (S.F.). Male swimmers had higher levels of RC, Hb, MCV, Ht, TIBC, S.I. than control group males. Female swimmers had higher levels of MCV, Hb, Ht, S.F., and TIBC than female controls. In terms of Hb an S.F. the differences were smaller between the male and female swimmers than in the control group. The results show that male swimmers have more iron than male controls, female swimmers more than female controls, though their iron levels are still lower than desirable. The excellence of aerobic exercise presupposes an increased iron pool. Verf.-Referat