Body Composition and Dietary Intake of Elite Cross-country Skiers Members of the Greek National Team

Rehabilitation Nutrition for Injury Recovery of Athletes: The Role of Macronutrient Intake

An adequate and balanced diet is of utmost importance in recovery and rehabilitation. "Rehabilitation nutrition" for injury recovery of athletes is similar to sports nutrition, except for the differences that concern the prevention of the risk or presence of sarcopenia, malnutrition, or dysphagia. Rehabilitation nutrition also aims, combined with training, to an adequate long-term nutritional status of the athlete and also in physical condition improvement, in terms of endurance and resistance. The aim of this paper is to define the proper nutrition for athletes in order to hasten their return to the sports after surgery or injury. Energy intake should be higher than the energy target in order to fight sarcopenia-that is 25-30 kcal/kg of body weight. Macro- and micro-nutrients play an important role in metabolism, energy production, hemoglobin synthesis, lean mass and bone mass maintenance, immunity, health, and protection against oxidative damage. Nutritional strategies, such as supplementation of suboptimal protein intake with leucine are feasible and effective in offsetting anabolic resistance. Thus, maintaining muscle mass, without gaining fat, becomes challenging for the injured athlete. A dietary strategy should be tailored to the athlete's needs, considering amounts, frequency, type and, most of all, protein quality. During rehabilitation, simultaneous carbohydrates and protein intake can inhibit muscle breakdown and muscle atrophy. The long-term intake of omega-3 fatty acids enhances anabolic sensitivity to amino acids; thus, it may be beneficial to the injured athlete. Adequate intakes of macronutrients can play a major role supporting athletes' anabolism.

Alpine junior world ski championship: nutritional habits and performance in elite skiers

BACKGROUND

Young athletes need to consume an appropriate diet in order to maintain health and optimize growth and athletic performance. We evaluated nutritional habits of junior elite skiers.

METHODS

Alpine junior elite skiers (N.=68; 42 males and 26 females; age range 16-20 years) coming from 20 countries were recruited during the Alpine Junior World Ski Championship, Roccaraso, Italy. Nutritional habits were assessed using a 3-day food record and the NHANES Food Frequency Questionnaire. Data were compared with nutritional recommendations and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for athletes.

RESULTS

During the training period, the energy intake in both males and females was significantly lower with respect to estimated energy needs. Carbohydrate intake expressed in terms of grams per kilogram of body weight did not meet the RDAs in both groups (4.19 and 5.15 g/kg in males and females, respectively). Protein and fat consumption exceeded the RDAs with a protein intake of 2.34 g/kg in males and 2.10 g/kg in females, and a fat intake >35% of total daily calories. During competition days, both males and females increased carbohydrate intake to 6.23 and 8.11 g/kg respectively, reaching the RDAs. Protein intake increased to 2.56 and 3.14 g/kg in males and females, respectively, and fat intake slightly decreased, still exceeding the RDAs.

CONCLUSIONS

Junior elite skiers reported a low intake of carbohydrates and a high intake of protein and fat. Nutritional counselling should be given to athletes to maintain their health and improve their physical performance.

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) in sport and exercise: Systematic review and future perspectives

Background

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) is a general concept that includes all methodologies used in the analysis of the bioelectrical vector, whereas the "classic" BIVA is a patented methodology included among these methods of analysis. Once this was clarified, the systematic review of the literature provides a deeper insight into the scope and range of application of BIVA in sport and exercise.

Objective

The main goal of this work was to systematically review the sources on the applications of BIVA in sport and exercise and to examine its usefulness and suitability as a technique for the evaluation of body composition, hydration status, and other physiological and clinical relevant characteristics, ultimately to trace future perspectives in this growing area, including a proposal for a research agenda.

Methods

Systematic literature searches in PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Scopus databases up to July, 2017 were conducted on any empirical investigations using phase-sensitive bioimpedance instruments to perform BIVA within exercise and sport contexts. The search included healthy sedentary individuals, physically active subjects and athletes.

Result

Nineteen eligible papers were included and classified as sixteen original articles and three scientific conference communications. Three studies analysed short-term variations in the hydration status evoked by exercise/training through whole-body measurements, eleven assessed whole-body body composition changes induced by long-term exercise, four compared athletic groups or populations using the whole-body assessment, and two analysed bioelectrical patterns of athletic injuries or muscle damage through localised bioimpedance measurements.

Conclusions

BIVA is a relatively new technique that has potential in sport and exercise, especially for the assessment of soft-tissue injury. On the other hand, the current tolerance ellipses of “classic” BIVA are not a valid method to identify dehydration in individual athletes and a new approach is needed. “Specific” BIVA, a method which proposes a correction of bioelectrical values for body geometry, emerges as the key to overcome “classic” BIVA limitations regarding the body composition assessment. Further research establishing standardised testing procedures and investigating the relationship between physiology and the bioelectrical signal in sport and exercise is needed.

Energy expenditure and nutrition status of ballet, jazz and contemporary dance students

Purpose: To evaluate of the energy expenditure in 3 types of dance classes (ballet, Jazz, and contemporary), as well as of the daily energy balance depending on dance type. Materials and methods: 40 females attending dance classes with a median age of 21.0 (19.0-25.0) and 10 males with a median age of 27.0 (20.0-28.0) participated in this study. The energy cost of each dance class was measured using the BodyMedia SenseWear Sensor and total daily energy expenditure was evaluated using a 3-day recording of physical activity. The dietary intake was evaluated with a 3-day food diary recording. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software. Results: Median energy expenditure varied from 306 (277-328) Kcals/class for contemporary dance to 327 (290-355) Kcals/class for ballet and 369 (333-394) Kcals/class for jazz for females with significant differences between contemporary and jazz classes. For males, energy expenditure was 508 (447-589) Kcals/class and 564 (538-593) Kcals/class for ballet and jazz classes, respectively. Females had lower values for all anthropometric measurements, energy intake, macronutrient intakes, and energy expenditure, compared with males. The anthropometric characteristics did not differ between dance types. Both female and male dance students were in a negative energy balance. Conclusions: The use of sensors such as BodyMedia SenseWear together with keeping daily diaries make measurement of physical activity in dancing reliable and accurate. Exercise expenditure differs across types of dance in females but not in males. Both sexes had inadequate energy and carbohydrate intakes.

Total Energy Expenditure, Energy Intake, and Body Composition in Endurance Athletes Across the Training Season: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Endurance athletes perform periodized training in order to prepare for main competitions and maximize performance. However, the coupling between alterations of total energy expenditure (TEE), energy intake, and body composition during different seasonal training phases is unclear. So far, no systematic review has assessed fluctuations in TEE, energy intake, and/or body composition in endurance athletes across the training season. The purpose of this study was to (1) systematically analyze TEE, energy intake, and body composition in highly trained athletes of various endurance disciplines and of both sexes and (2) analyze fluctuations in these parameters across the training season.

METHODS

An electronic database search was conducted on the SPORTDiscus and MEDLINE (January 1990-31 January 2015) databases using a combination of relevant keywords. Two independent reviewers identified potentially relevant studies. Where a consensus was not reached, a third reviewer was consulted. Original research articles that examined TEE, energy intake, and/or body composition in 18-40-year-old endurance athletes and reported the seasonal training phases of data assessment were included in the review. Articles were excluded if body composition was assessed by skinfold measurements, TEE was assessed by questionnaires, or data could not be split between the sexes. Two reviewers assessed the quality of studies independently. Data on subject characteristics, TEE, energy intake, and/or body composition were extracted from the included studies. Subjects were categorized according to their sex and endurance discipline and each study allocated a weight within categories based on the number of subjects assessed. Extracted data were used to calculate weighted means and standard deviations for parameters of TEE, energy intake, and/or body composition.

RESULTS

From 3589 citations, 321 articles were identified as potentially relevant, with 82 meeting all of the inclusion criteria. TEE of endurance athletes was significantly higher during the competition phase than during the preparation phase (p < 0.001) and significantly higher than energy intake in both phases (p < 0.001). During the competition phase, both body mass and fat-free mass were significantly higher compared to other seasonal training phases (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Limitations of the present study included insufficient data being available for all seasonal training phases and thus low explanatory power of single parameters. Additionally, the classification of the different seasonal training phases has to be discussed. Male and female endurance athletes show important training seasonal fluctuations in TEE, energy intake, and body composition. Therefore, dietary intake recommendations should take into consideration other factors including the actual training load, TEE, and body composition goals of the athlete.

Nutritional supplements use in high-performance athletes is related with lower nutritional inadequacy from food

BACKGROUND

The use of nutritional supplements (NS) among athletes is widespread. However, little is known about the relationship between nutritional adequacy and NS usage. The aims of this study were to evaluate the NS usage and to compare the nutritional intake from food and prevalence of micronutrient inadequacy (PMI) between NS users and non-users.

METHODS

Portuguese athletes from 13 sports completed an NS usage questionnaire and a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire assessing information over the previous 12 months. The estimated average requirement cut-point method was used to calculate PMI. General linear models were used to compare nutritional intake and NS usage. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression were performed to study, respectively, relationships and associations between PMI and NS usage.

RESULTS

From the 244 athletes (66% males, 13-37 years), 64% reported NS usage. After adjustment, NS users showed a higher intake from food (p < 0.05), for at least 1 gender, for energy, and for 7 of the 17 studied nutrients. The highest PMI were seen for vitamins D and E, calcium, folate, and magnesium. After adjustment, NS users, irrespective of gender, reported lower PMI for calcium (OR = 0.28, 95%CI: 0.12-0.65), and female users for magnesium (OR = 0.06, 95%CI: 0.00-0.98).

CONCLUSION

Athletes using NS reported a higher nutritional intake from food, and a lower PMI for several nutrients. Perhaps, those who were taking NS were probably the ones who would least benefit from it.

Many non-elite multisport endurance athletes do not meet sports nutrition recommendations for carbohydrates

Little is known regarding the dietary intake of non-elite athletes involved in multisport endurance events. The primary objective of this observational study was to characterize the dietary intake of non-elite athletes participating in winter triathlon (snowshoeing, skating, and cross-country skiing), winter pentathlon (winter triathlon sports + cycling and running), Ironman (IM: swimming, cycling, running), and half-distance Ironman (IM 70.3) in relation with current sports nutrition recommendations. A total of 116 non-elite athletes (32 women and 84 men) who had participated in one of those events in 2014 were included in the analyses. Usual dietary intake was assessed using a validated online food frequency questionnaire. Participants (22-66 years old) trained 14.8 ± 5.3 h/week, on average (±SD). Only 45.7% [95% confidence interval, 36.4%-55.2%] of all athletes reported consuming the recommended intake for carbohydrates, with the highest proportion (66.7%) seen in IM athletes. On the other hand, 87.1% [79.6%-92.6%] of all athletes reported consuming at least 1.2 g protein·kg(-1)·day(-1), while 66.4% [57.0%-74.9%] reported consuming more than 1.6 g protein·kg(-1)·day(-1). The proportion of athletes consuming the recommended amount of protein was highest (84.6%) among IM athletes. There was no difference in the proportion of athletes achieving the recommended carbohydrate and protein intakes between men and women. These findings suggest that many non-elite multisport endurance athletes do not meet the current recommendations for carbohydrates, emphasizing the need for targeted nutritional education. Further research is needed to examine how underreporting of food intake may have affected these estimates.

Eating and nutrition habits in young competitive athletes: a comparison between soccer players and cyclists

The study evaluated the dietary habits in two groups of young athletes, practicing two different sports: soccer players and cycling. The dietary habits of 47 athletes were investigated by questionnaire. Body Mass Index, Fat Mass, Free Fat Mass, Total Body, Intracellular, Extracellular Water and Phase Angle were measured by bioimpedance. The t-Student test for unpaired data was used. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Body Mass Index was similar between the groups, while total body water and extracellular water were significantly higher in the soccer player group (soccer players: 63.8±1.96%; cyclists : 59.8 ± 8.7%; and soccer players 43.9±3.1%, cyclists 43.8 ±2.1%, respectively). Fatty mass of the soccer player group (14.5±2.9%) was significantly lower than that of the cyclist group (19.5±3.6%). Daily food intake was similar between the two groups (2844 kCal/die for soccer players /2630 kcal/die for cyclists), and lower than recommended. There was a low intake of Calcium (soccer players 1120±128.9 mg/die, cyclists 718±309 mg/die) for both groups, and a low intake of Potassium for soccer player (2576 mg/die ± 52.4) The caloric intake of adolescent athletes is lower than recommended. Body composition is significantly different between soccer players and cyclists.

Prediction of race performance of elite cross-country skiers by lean mass

PURPOSE

To investigate the relationship between race performance and lean mass (LM) variables, as well as to examine sex differences in body composition in elite-standard cross-country skiers.

METHODS

Thirty-four elite cross-country skiers (18 men and 16 women) underwent a dual-emission X-ray-absorptiometry body-composition test to determine LM, fat mass, and bone mineral content. For both sexes, performance data were collected from a sprint prologue and a distance race.

RESULTS

The absolute expression of LM variables (whole-body [LMWB], upper body [LMUB], and lower body [LMLB]) was significantly correlated with finishing time in the sprint prologue independent of sex. Distance-race performance was significantly related to LMWB, LMUB, and LMLB in women; however, no correlation was found in men. Men had a significantly higher LM and lower fat mass, independent of expression (absolute or relative), for the whole body, arms, trunk, and legs, except for the absolute fat mass in the trunk.

CONCLUSIONS

The absolute expressions of LMWB, LMUB, and LMLB were significant predictors of sprint-prologue performance in both sexes, as well as of distance-race performance in women only. Compared with women, male skiers have a higher LM in the body segments that are major contributors to propelling forces. These results suggest that muscle mass in the lower and upper body is equally important for race performance; thus, more focus of elite skiers' training should be directed to increasing whole-body muscle mass to improve their competitive performance capability.