The comparison of antioxidant status and lipid profile of karate athletes with non-athletes

During the intense and prolonged exercise, muscle and tissue damages may occur due to production of free radicals and other reactive oxygen compounds. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare antioxidant status and lipid profile of karate athletes and non-athlete individuals. In a descriptive analytical study, 17 healthy active male karate athletes, who have continues exercise training during previous 6 months for at least 3 sessions per week, each session lasted 45 minute; and 20 male non-athletes without previous history of regular exercise in the same time, were selected randomly. Total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, lipid concentration, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and legs anaerobic power were determined through standardized and valid methods. Mann-Whitney tests was used to compare groups with α =0.05. The SOD activity, VO2 max and legs peak anaerobic power of karate athletes were significantly higher (P<0.05), and body mass index and body fat percentage of them were significantly lower (P<0.05) than non-athlete individuals. However, there were not significant differences between the two groups regarding their lipid concentrations and other antioxidant indexes (P>0.05). Karate athletes have more favorable antioxidant system, physical fitness, and body composition than non-athletes, and these factors make them more resistance against cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis.