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Runners may be the best men around

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Your attraction to quick runners may be evolutionary.

New research out of the University of Cambridge has found that the fastest finishers in a race are more likely to have had pre-birth exposure to high levels of testosterone, providing an evolutionary advantage in human history. Pre-birth exposure to high testosterone levels has been linked with stronger sex drives, higher sperm counts, better cardiovascular efficiency and a stronger spatial awareness. The link has been made in both men and women, but is much more pronounced in males.

The new research, published at the beginning of April, used what is known as a 2D:4D ratio to compare pre-birth exposure to testosterone with finishing times in the marathon. The 2D:4D ratio is the ratio length of your index finger to your ring finger and is understood to be a strong representation of exposure to testosterone in the womb. Those whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers were likely exposed to high levels of testosterone.

Upon finishing the Nottingham marathon, 439 men had and 103 women had their hands scanned. It was found that, in the men, the 10 per cent with the most-masculine finger ratios – that is, those whose ring fingers were much longer than their index fingers – averaged 24:33 faster over the 42.K distance than the 10 per cent at the other end of the scale.

“It was thought that a better hunter would have got more meat, and had a healthier – and larger – family as a consequence of providing more meat for his family,” said lead author Dr. Danny Longman in a release. “But hunter-gatherers may have used egalitarian systems with equal meat distribution as we see in remaining tribes today. In which case more meat is not a factor, but the ability to get meat would signal underlying traits of athletic endurance, as well as intelligence – to track and outwit prey – and generosity – to contribute to tribal society. All traits you want passed on to your children.”

The study was the largest ever done of it’s kind and the team notes it will need more research to make any broader claims.

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