健康養身★肚臍位置與運動能力（轉）

為什麼黑人擅長短跑而白人是游泳比賽的常勝將軍？科學家給出了新解釋，這是由肚臍的位置決定的。

研究人員發現肚臍在人體的相對位置能夠影響到人的運動能力。因為它是人體的重心所在。肚臍位置高，重心就高，因此向前衝的速度快。反之，肚臍位置低，軀幹長，游泳就快。

研究人員稱他們的發現找到了黑人善跑而白人善遊的原因。美國杜克大學一位教授解釋說：“起決定作用的不是身高而是肚臍的位置，也就是人體的重心位置。”

通常，西非運動員的重心明顯比歐洲運動員的要高很多。這就使他們在短跑項目上佔據優勢。

從個體比較，西非運動員比歐洲運動員的腿長，他們肚臍的位置平均比白人高出三厘米。這個隱藏高度使他們在跑道上速度佔優。

相比之下，在游泳項目上，白人較長的軀乾和位置較低的肚臍是有利條件。

該教授說：“游泳是衝浪藝術。游泳者製造浪花。浪花造的越大，游得就越快。游泳者的軀幹越長，就越容易製造大朵浪花。歐洲人的軀乾一般比西非人長3%，這就使得他們游泳時有1.5%的速度優勢。”

 

原文：

The reason why black people make better sprinters and white people dominate swimming races has been explained by scientists - it's down to their belly buttons.

The researchers found that the position of the navel in relation to the rest of their body affects athletic ability. This is because the naval is the body's centre of gravity. A higher naval meaning a higher centre of gravity, so your body is pulled forward faster . While a lower navel means a longer torso which makes for a better swimmer.

The researchers say their findings prove why black people are more likely to sprint faster while white people make swifter swimmers. A professor ​​from Duke University explains, "What matters is not total height but the position of the belly-button, or centre of gravity. "

It so happens that in the architecture of the human body of West African-origin runners, the centre of gravity is significantly higher than in runners of European origin which puts them at an advantage in sprints on the track.

Individuals of West African-origin have longer legs than European-origin athletes, which means their belly-buttons are three centimeters (1.18 inches) higher than whites. That means the black athletes have a "hidden height" that which gives them a significant speed advantage on the track.

In the pool, meanwhile, whites have the advantage because they have longer torsos, so their belly-buttons sit lower on the body.

"Swimming is the art of surfing the wave created by the swimmer,"said the professor. "The swimmer who makes the bigger wave is the faster swimmer, and a longer torso makes a bigger wave. Europeans have a three-percent longer torso than West Africans, which gives them a 1.5-percent speed advantage in the pool," he said.