Evaluation of Athlete Physiology and Performance in Different National Sport Clothes

is the Abstract Comfort is an important aspect especially in sports clothing, where the users perspire so much and sweat is in liquid moisture form. Clothing also influences an athlete’s physiology and performance during exercise. To determine the performance of various sportswear made of cotton and mostly used synthetic fibers (polyester, micro-polyester, channeled polyester, polyamide, and polyester/elastane) eight different athlete t-shirts were used in this experiment. Mechanical properties, air permeability, thermal resistance, and moisture management properties of the fabrics were measured. According to the results, it was determined that a very porous warp knitted structure has the highest Overall Moisture Management Capacity (OMMC) and air permeability, while it has the lowest thermal resistance. Cotton fabric has lower air permeability and bursting strength; however, it is a better heat insulator. In addition to this, since it is hydrophilic and absorbs water, it has been identified as “Good” in the case of moisture management property. Coolmax fabric has the highest maximum wetted radius, and it allows moisture to evaporate easier and provides quick drying.


Introduction
Sport is an area that receives great attention and is subjected to a significant amount of investments. In the past years, the attraction towards sports and exercise has increased significantly.
Thus, the number of people who exercise increased simultaneously.
Considering its relevance to society and the economy, it is not surprising that other sectors are encouraged to develop innovative solutions in the area of sports [1,2]. This rise affected several sectors, especially in the textile sector. Sports clothing, shoes, and equipment have become a focus of textile companies. Therefore, many studies examine the innovations regarding this sector. In this research, the relationship between sports textile and sports performance is widely studied. The aim is to understand how various types of textile materials affect the performance and health of the athlete [3]. [3]. Fabric type may easily affect the comfort and physiology of the person and lead to several problems such as excessive sweating, intense changes in body temperature, extra weight, inadequate protection against impacts, low resistance against water, low air permeability [2,6].
The characteristics of fabric in terms of fiber type and geometry may easily influence moisture evaporation [7]. Some studies analyze the factors that affect body heat while exercising [8]. Studies indicate that textiles that are hydrophilic (cotton etc.) have a positive effect in terms of balancing body heat. On the other hand, hydrophobic textiles (polyester, nylon, etc.) affect thermal comfort negatively during exercise [9]. However, after the development of channeled

Fabrics and Sports Relation
When one exercises in an environment where the temperature is above average, heat is lost from the body through sweating. For this reason, the preservation of body temperature is quite essential during exercise [13]. The same principle is valid in environments with low temperature when the person who exercises uses special clothes to prevent heat loss [14]. Therefore, several studies may be found in the literature on sweating [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In terms of comfort provided by sports clothing, one can be affected in several ways: ergonomic, physiological, psychological, and skin-related [22,23].
Physiology may be affected by the type of fabric depending on thermal properties and permeability. Psychological effects are related to fashion and individual choices. Ergonomic comfort includes the ability to move without any restrictions to the body, depending on the elasticity of the clothing. Lastly, skin-related effects can be explained as the direct contact of fabric to the skin such as the softness of material [9]. The quality of sport cloth is directly linked to the comfort it provides to the athlete during exercise. Comfort is particularly an important issue since it directly influences the athlete's performance and health. In case an athlete or anyone who exercises chooses a sports clothing with good air and moisture permeability, the person is expected to have a lower heart rate and body temperature compared to a person who chooses clothing with inadequate permeability [24][25][26]. Regarding the clear effect of sports clothing quality to sports performance and human health, it is important to use fabrics that have a good quality of air and moisture permeability and thermal features. There are various types of factors that affect the quality of clothing such as the structure of the fabric and the type of fiber that is used [9].
Thermal Comfort: The major benefit of sweating while exercising is heat preservation. The body can keep its temperature on a normal level through sweating. Body temperature maintenance is important to provide a balanced internal environment for all physiological systems to work. The mentioned situation is named heat acclimatization. Heat acclimatization decreases heat strain and also increases duration against heat [27]. Therefore, it provides thermal comfort for the body. However, when the moisture on the skin cannot be evaporated because of the covering sports clothing, this may cause the person to lose a greater amount of heat [28,29]. Therefore, it is important for the clothing to allow for air and water permeability. Otherwise, body temperature is expected to increase and result in thermal discomfort [30].
Water Loss: Water loss may be quite influential to the balance of the body affecting the thermoregulatory system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, metabolic functions, etc. [31]. Water loss may impact athletic performance quite severely. Many studies in literature analyzed the relationship. According to some of the research, water loss does not influence athletic performance [32][33][34][35]. However, other studies suggest otherwise, stating when water is lost from the body by 5% of the body weight, sports performance tends to be reduced [36,37]. Also, when water loss is 3% of body weight, muscle strength is expected to be decreased. Similarly, at a percentage of 2% or 3%, maximal aerobic power is affected negatively. In circumstances where the sports environment has a high temperature, the reductions in performance may be even higher [31,36]. In a textile preferable used for sport application, moisture and heat management are the key issues that have to be ensured for appropriate thermos physiological comfort [38]. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the properties of different commercially available athlete fabrics.
Previous Studies: Several types of research have been made to understand how different fabrics that are used in sports clothing affect the human body during exercise. One study analyzed physiological aspects that can be influenced by the sports clothing using three types of fabric: 100% Tencel fibers, 100% polyester fibers, and a mix of both. According to the results, the mixed fabric type provided the best outcomes in terms of efficiency for the subjects [54]. Differences between the natural and synthetic types of fabrics and their effects on the regulation of body temperature are also analyzed in the literature. Some studies state that the fabric type that is used in the clothing is quite influential during exercise.
When there is a more muscular activity, the body temperature rises [39,40].
Other than the specific issue of thermoregulation, many studies can be found on the influence of fabric type on heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level during exercise [41][42][43][44][45]. One research was conducted with the purpose to analyze the relationship between fabric type in sports clothing and thermal comfort people during sports. Subjects were asked to wear clothing with natural and synthetic fibers during and post-exercise [46]. After concluding the study, the researchers found out that cardiovascular and respiratory systems are highly affected by the material type.
Another research also focused on the sports clothing fabric types' of influences on athletes and their physiology. Volunteer athletes were asked to try three different sports clothing made of various types of fabrics: 100% cotton fibers, 35%/65% cotton-polyester mix fibers, and 100% polyester fibers. Different physiological parameters such as air permeability, moisture permeability, and thermal properties were studied. All three types of fabric demonstrated variating results on the subjects' bodies and athletic performances. On the contrary to this present study, the researchers concluded that 100% polyester fabric provided better results in terms of physiology and performance [9].

Materials and Methods
In this study, 8 different athlete t-shirts used in different national teams were used. They are summarized in (Table 1). They were obtained from an international supplier. After conditioning of the t-shirts for 24 hours under the standard atmosphere conditions (20 ± 2°C temperature and 65 ± 4% relative humidity), fabrics were tested for their physical properties. The structural properties of the fabrics are also given in (Table 1) [47,48].  in the fabric structure [49][50][51]. In order to simulate sweating, a special solution was prepared and is given onto the fabric. In this test design, the surface on which test liquid is dropped is designed as an inner surface that will be in contact with human skin surface. Overall Moisture Management Capacity (OMMC) is an index that is calculated by the instrument. It indicates the liquid transport properties of the fabrics. It is a key factor to indicate the overall capability of the fabric to manage the transport of liquid moisture [12,47,48,49,51]. When it is higher, the overall moisture management capacity of the fabric will be higher too.

Results and Discussion
In order to determine whether the effects of fabric type on the measured parameters are significant or not, variance analysis were carried out and the p values are given in (Table 2). p values    When microfibers are used in the structure, the fabric and fiber surface is enlarged; therefore, moisture is transported via more channels, since a better capillary effect is achieved [52]. For this reason, Fabric 1 and fabric 2 have high max wetted radius values.
On the other hand, due to the hydrophilic character of cotton, some of the test liquid is absorbed by the cotton fibers, which results in lower moisture spreading along the fabric Spreading Speed (mm/ sec) is defined as the accumulative spreading speed from the center to the maximum wetted radius [43]. The accumulative spreading speed (SS) is calculated according to the given formula:     [49]. Spreading speed test results are given in Figure 11. According to the results, it can be seen that Fabric 6 has the best performance, due to the channeled fibers in the structure. However, Fabric 7 has comparatively lower spreading speed value. Test liquid transferred by capillary forces     3), fabric 7 has the highest value and identified as "very good", due to its fabric construction. The dropped test liquid easily goes through the large pores of the fabric, and it increases OMMC value.
It is followed by fabric 3, which is made of cotton and it is identified as "good" according to its overall moisture management property.
Air permeability results are depicted in Figure 12. According to Figure 12, it can be seen that fabric 7, which has large pores in the structure, has the highest air permeability. Fabric 6, which has the highest density, has the lowest air permeability. Fabrics that have elastane yarn inside are tighter than the others and therefore they have low air permeability values. Cotton fabric, which is produced from staple fibers, has a hairy and thick structure and it causes low air permeability. Bursting strength values of the fabrics are given in Figure 13.  Type 0,000* 0,000* 0,220 0,000* 0,000* 0,008* 0,159 0,000* 0,002* 0,006* 0,000* 0,000* Table 3: OMMC values of test fabrics.    According, to the thermal resistance test results Figure 14, it can be depicted that, fabric 7 has the lowest thermal resistance, while fabric 3 has the highest. That means, thermal insulation of cottonbased fabric is the highest than all other samples. First reason of this is the staple fibers that create a hairy and bulky structure and, in this situation, entrapped still air inside the fabric is higher and this provides higher heat resistance. Secondly, thermal conductivity of cotton is 71 mW/m K, while it is 140 mW/m K for polyester fiber and 250 mW/m K for polyamide fiber [54]. For this reason, cotton material is less conductive, but more resistant to heat transfer. successfully and it is identified as "good" for moisture management property. Air permeability is related to the porosity of the structure and fabric 7 has the highest value for this reason. Fabric 3 (cotton fabric) and Fabric 6 which have the highest fabric density have low air permeability since they have low porosity and a more compact structure.
In the case of thermal resistance results, cotton fabric has the highest thermal resistance value, due to the low thermal conductivity and the entrapped air inside the fabric, which acts as a thermal barrier. However, Fabric 7 has the lowest thermal resistance.
The porous structure of this fabric affects the thermal resistance and decreases its insulation property. The large pores increase liquid moisture, air, and heat transfer property. In conclusion, it was found that by using porous fabric constructions and synthetic fibers, air-permeable moisture management, thermally conductive and durable fabrics can be produced. In addition to this, nylon and polyester sports clothing work as an obstacle to the physiology and performance of athletes. However, cotton with its good moisture management property is still a suitable sportswear material and provides a quick sweat-absorbing property.