Skinfold Thickness Distribution in Recreational Marathon Runners The relationship of the body fat percentage to the performance of elite marathon runners was well examined.However, there are less information about the variation of the skin fold thickness after gender and performance at non-elite marathon runners available. The aim of the present study was to examine the variation of the skin fold thickness after gender and performance in leisure marathon runners. Participants belonged to 32 female (age 40.1 ± 9.0 years, body fat 19.6 ± 4.7% and training volume 47.7 ± 22.6 km) and 134 male marathon runners (age 44.3 ± 8.8Years, body fat 17.6 ± 4.0% and exercise volume 53.0 ± 21.2 km). The biggest skin fold thickness was the stomach in both sexes, while the smallest of the biceps in men and the chin was in women.The largest gender-specific difference in the thickness of the skin folds was observed in triceps, where the skin fold was thickest in women.The biggest difference in the skin fold thickness between the men’s power groups was observed on the Beckenkamm and the smallest on the patella and the proximal calf.
In summary, the skin fold measurements showed that women had more fat both in their upper and lower limbs, while men had more fat in their hull.With regard to the role of the power level, the slowest runners showed relatively more fat on the upper limbs and the anatomical sites of the fuselage, ie away from the active muscles of the legs. The whole study can be found under https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/9/2978