• Question: on average how many grams of fat would a professional 100m runner (like Usain Bolt) have in his/her body? How much is down to diet?

    Asked by mickeysimmoooo to Liam on 18 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Liam Bagley

      Liam Bagley answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      Ah now this is a brilliant question and exactly what I study!
      If we assume he is about 95kg in total weight and about 8% of his body is fat. (These are guesses I’ve made from looking at other sprinters!), he must be carrying about 7.5kg of fat around with him. Compared to me, I weigh about 80kg and about 17% of my body is fat! So the average man carries a lot more fat around with him.

      Diet is very important for athletes, it fuels the work that their muscles must go through. A high amount of carbohydrates and proteins are essential. Carbohydrates to provide fuel for the working muscle and protein to repair damaged muscle after work. Fat is also essential as it holds key acids that we need to function at our best. I read that Michael Phelps, the American olympic swimmer, consumes about 12,000 calories a day, thats enormous! Me or you eat around 2000 calories a day!

      Liam

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