What your finger length could reveal to your cardio fitness

Look at your hand now. Is your annular longer than your pointer? If yes, you can be gifted by athletics, According to new research.

Meta-analysis, which has recently been published in the American Journal of Human Biologysuggests that the people whose annular fingers are longer than their pointer fingers (index) – a phenomenon called 2D report: 4D lower figures – can better tolerate harder and longer training.

Researchers think that the report is the most complete analysis to date, linking the report to the exercise tolerance and endurance performance.

“Those who have lower figures are more likely to succeed in endurance sporting events Like the long -distance race, walking, cycling or rowing, or team sports that offer a strong aerobic challenge, “the author of the study Grant Tomkinson, PhD, professor of human and exercise and sports sciences at the University of South Australia, told the author of the study Tomkinson, said, said Health. “The figure report can be a useful detection tool at low cost for certain aspects of the cardio form, such as tolerance for exercise and endurance performance.”

The researchers examined 22 studies which estimated 5,293 people in 12 countries. They specifically studied the way in which the 2D and 4D lengths of people were linked to various measures of the cardiorepiratory form, including the way their body used oxygen during an intense exercise and how vigorously they could exercise until they were tired.

People with a 2D: lower 4D ratio, which means their Index fingers were shorter than their ring fingers, had Best tolerance to exercise And Endurance performance. No relationship was found between the 2D: 4D report and other aspects of athletics, such as aerobic capacity and efficiency.

Other studies have linked finger figure reports to various traits, especially Increased physical assault And Increased competitiveness.

The lower 2D report: also 4D has also been associated – although low – with several athletic performance measures, including greater handle resistance, faster sprint speed and higher explosive resistance, said Michael Fredericson, MD, Physiatric of Sports Medicine with Stanford Medicine.

“Some studies suggest that the effect is more pronounced in men and in sports that require endurance or explosive power,” he said Health.

Some studies have shown that people with 2D: lower 4D experience More intense peaks in testosterone during an intense exercise, Which can help them tolerate discomfort. And elite athletes generally tend to have 2D: 4D lower relationships than those of non-athletes. However, “this is not a universal observation in all sports, and the size of the effect is generally small,” said Fredericson.

Previous research suggests that the size of your finger is linked to How many testosterone you have been exposed in the uterus– and that people exposed to more testosterone can have 2D: 4D lower reports.

Prenatal testosterone, according to some scientists, can Improve the way the body uses oxygen during the exercise.

“Prenatal exposure to testosterone has long -term effects on the growth and development of several bodily organs – such as heart, lungs, muscles, bones – which can help the levels of Cardio fitness,” said Tomkinson. Together, these effects could also have an impact on how the endocrine system reacts to difficult situations, such as a race race, he added.

Older research suggests that prenatal testosterone may influence How much a person is motivated during his training– And the more motivated they are, the more they can work.

But some scientists are skeptical about the influence of prenatal testosterone lengthwise. This includes James Smoliga, PHD, professor in the Rehabilitation Sciences Department of the Tofts University School of Medicine.

According to Smoliga, the figure report changes over time, with the adult figure report often differing from the measured report after birth. “So it makes no sense that we can use the ratio of adult figures to better understand what was going on in utero,” he said Health.

In addition, Smoliga stressed that identical twins can have ratios of different figures, although they are exposed to the same conditions in utero.

Finally, “there is really no clear way to confirm the hypothesis that the figure report – even after birth – really reflects prenatal testosterone,” he said. Measuring exposure to fetal testosterone would require continuous monitoring of levels in amniotic fluid, which is not possible.

Study researchers say that the identification of people with a 2D: lower 4D ratio could help sports scientists to identify talents And Help athletes understand their sports potential. But Tomkinson noted that the length of the finger should not replace direct assessments of physical condition.

More research is necessary To better understand how finger length could help athletes and coaches to trace people’s potential, he said.

Other scientists, such as Smoliga, question the role that the length of the finger can play in sport. “The usefulness of the figure is really questionable”, “ He said. He thinks that the size of the fingers is improbable could predict his endurance performance.

Fredericson feels in the same way. Much of the research carried out on the figure report has been observational, which cannot establish causality, he noted. “Additional research is necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms and to determine any practical involvement for the identification of talents or sports training,” said Fredericson.

As for what can certainly help your aerobic performance? Training. Aerobic and resistance training can considerably improve your cardiorepiratory physical condition, according to research. “Training is much more likely to influence the performance than the figure report,” said Smoliga.