The Sports Gene: Chapters 7 & 8

Chapter 7: The Big Bang of Body Types

    I have always grown up saying if I was built a little taller, skinnier, stronger, etc… that I would be so much better at soccer, lacrosse, etc. I still say that today. This chapter begins with saying how not only technology has evolved, but the gene pool of athletes in elite sports has also. There was a belief that there was a one-size fits all generally physical build that the best athletes would have, until scientists realized more specialized body types fit better with different sports. The more research that has been diving into specific body characteristics, the more scientists are pointing out how the human body has been evolving in each sport.

     One of the most famous studies of athletic body types ever conducted took a full year to complete and researched over 1,265 athletes who competed in the Olympics. There was an athlete for every sport, and 92 different countries. After 6 years of compiling the results and publishing the research, it was obvious that in most Olympic sports, athletes in their different sports are more physically similar than someone and their sibling. 

    To continue chapter 7, genes affect body weight and how you gain or lose weight. In looking at muscle fibers again in this book, researchers have shown that while adults with a high proportion of fast-twitch fibers can build bigger muscles, they have a more difficult time losing fat. One’s skeleton also had a lost to do with weight. One kilogram of bone supports a maximum of 5 kilograms of muscle. If one has a larger bone density and mass, then they can support more weight. I can say that I have heard the phrase “they’re not fat, they are just big boned.” Turns out, maybe that’s not untrue.



Chapter 8: The Vitruvian NBA Player

    Dennis Rodman came from a family of college star basketball players. However, until he was a the end of high school, he was the runt of his family, and friends. He quit his high school basketball as he was benched most of the season. Eventually, he grew to be 6’8”, gained some muscle mass, and was suddenly more athletic. Rodman decided to try out for a community college team, where he played for a while, then dropped out. From there he went to Southeastern Oklahoma State on scholarship and his basketball career took off there. Michael Jordan on the other hand, was shorter, but better and athletically gifted in high school. Even though the height range of 6’6”-6’8” made up a good chunk of the Bulls notorious team, height is a narrowly constrained trait. 

    While the average height of the men’s NBA is significantly higher than the rest of the world, the women’s NBA height average is about 5’11-6’0. The average woman basketball player is about 10% taller than the average woman, and the average male basketball player is about 15% taller than the average man. All this talk about height doesn’t mean that short people cannot play basketball, what their vertical length lacks, their wingspan and ability to jump makes up for. The rest of this chapter discusses height disparities among different populations of people, such as race, environment, and lifestyle. 

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