Fat-free mass as a function of maximal oxygen consumption and 24-hour urinary creatinine, and 3-methylhistidine excretion.

The relationships between maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) with fat-free mass (FFM), and with 24-h urinary excretion of 3-methylhistidine (3MH) and creatinine (Cr), were studied in 12 active men age 31.4 +/- 9 yr (mean +/- SD). FFM, VO2max and VO2maxWt-1 were 50.9 +/- 9.1 kg, 3.8 +/- 0.9 L X min-1, and 54.8 +/- 9.4 ml X kg-1 X min-1, respectively. Urinary 3MH and Cr after 3 days on a meat-free diet were 213.9 +/- 30.8 mumol X day-1 and 1.60 +/- 0.3 g X day-1, respectively. 3MH X Cr-1 was 135.3 +/- 16.8 mumol X g-1 or 15.3 +/- 1.9 molar ratio X 10(3). The strongest (p less than 0.01) associations found were 3MH versus FFM, FFM versus VO2max, and 3MH versus VO2max. Other significant (p less than 0.05) relationships were Cr versus FFM, Cr versus 3MH, and Cr versus VO2max. Nonsignificant correlations were found for 3MH X Cr-1 versus VO2max X kg-1 X min-1 versus FFM, 3MH X Cr-1 versus VO2max, and FFM versus VO2max X kg-1 X min-1. The best predictor of FFM was 3MH. It was concluded that endogenous urinary 3MH excretion is a valid method to study human body composition and that 3MH is more closely related to FFM (r = 0.93) than VO2max (r = 0.78).