PONE-D-23-25168Dose response of running on blood biomarkers of wellness in the generally healthy PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: The majority parts of the articles are technically sound. Moreover, the purpose of the study is very sound since it focused on healthy active population. Among the few drawbacks of the study the way the study subjects categorized into groups based on the duration of the activity (>10hours per week and less that 10hours per week is not appropriate. Moreover, the reliability/validity of the information sources in relation to the biomarker tests and lifestyle habits of the study subjects didn't consider the immediate effects of medical services and medication conditions of the respondents at the time of reporting the volume of exercise and biomarker test results. Medical services and lifestyle habits specially all the habits in addition to exercises/running are very important to reach informative decision in this research. So, the above two points need further explanation or modification.

Reviewer #2: Comments:

How your data is reliable by using A cross-sectional study design? &

How again the Data is reliable by using self-reported running. I understand that Biomarkers are objective measure, but do you think that Self-report is trustworthy?

Thank you

Reviewer #3: Upon a meticulous review of the article in question, I wish to commend the authors for crafting a piece that not only carries immense scientific weight but is also articulated with great clarity. Such insightful work surely merits publication in your distinguished journal. It's admirable how the authors have navigated through a myriad of physiological and biochemical variables (blood biomarkers) across five distinct participant categories and presented their results with lucidity. The experimental framework is robust, the statistical evaluations are apt, and the narrative progresses seamlessly. The references provided are both relevant and adequate. Nevertheless, I'd like to offer a few observations and suggestions:

Original Title: “Dose response of running on blood biomarkers of wellness in the generally healthy.”

Proposed Title: “Dose-response relationship between running and blood biomarkers of wellness in generally healthy individuals.”

Page 2, Line 8: The mention of “exposure to sunlight” seems somewhat out of context. Could the authors clarify its relevance or indicate if it has been discussed elsewhere in the article?

Page 17, Lines 17-18: The text reads: "These observations suggest that elite endurance runners………to their magnesium status."

Comments: It would be helpful to clarify whether the professional athletes (PRO) participating in this study are specifically elite endurance runners. Kindly integrate this distinction into the main text if accurate.

Page 19, Lines 1-2: The assertion: “Indeed whether exercise………..is inconclusive,” needs to be substantiated with a relevant citation.

Table 1: Please include standard deviation (SD) values. I also recommend expressing exercise duration in terms of "h/week" instead of "hr".

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes: Dr. Subir Gupta

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Dose response of running on blood biomarkers of wellness in generally healthy individuals

PONE-D-23-25168R1

Dear Dr. Nogal

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Efrem Kentiba, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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