1. Identifying sub-optimal diets among athletes Sally R Parsonage, Lecturer in Sports Nutrition, University of Westminster, London (formerly Head of Nutrition Division, IMG Performance Institute, Florida USA)
Aim:
While an optimal diet for competition is important, the training diet generally has a greater impact on overall nutritional status. The ability to quickly assess a relatively large number of athletes can help to identify those in greatest need of nutritional support
Results:
A previous collaborative trial conducted in USA on young elite athletes (mean age /- 2.9 yrs) indicated that nearly half the group had diets of average quality or below (mean DQ score / )
The current group of recreational runners were older (mean age /- 5.6 yrs) and showed significantly better DQ scores (mean 1.8 +/- 0.85) with 37.5% in the EXCELLENT category
The initial study showed a good correlation between DQ score and calcium intake (R = 0.73, P<0.003), agreeing with previous reports in the literature that calcium can be a good indicator of overall quality of diet
The survey of recreational runners did NOT confirm a correlation between DQ and calcium intake (R =0.238, P = 0.275), the best relationship being between DQ score and % protein kcals (R = 0.454, P < 0.03)
Checks and Constraints:
Anthropometric measures such as BMI or body composition indicate past nutritional or training status rather than current
Few sub-elite or recreational athletes, have sufficient motivation to complete a 3 or 7 day weighed food intake, and dietary analysis is time-consuming , costly, and more detailed than necessary
For practising athletes in training programmes, time is often limited so assessment of current diet needs to be quick!
Methods:
Members of running clubs were asked to complete the Diet Quality questionnaire and to undertake a 3 day food diary at the same time.
24 runners returned completed intake records, and these were analysed using NetWISP software based on UK Nutrient Databank
Statistical analysis was carried out using Excel and SPSS, and significance was assumed at P < 0.05 level
Conclusions:
It appears that older non-elite athletes have a different focus on the quality of their dietary intake, with a greater concern about the potential effects of high energy/low nutrient density foods.
The correlation with % kcals from protein reflects the current obsession with a perceived need for more dietary protein, despite the fact that average intakes are usually almost twice the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA)
It is also possible that the runners who undertook the additional 3 day food diary were the ones who already had a heightened interest in their nutrition, thus skewing the results in their favour!
The possibility is that every disparate group of athletes (gender, age, event, level and so on) will show clear relationships with different dietary characteristics, and as such each needs to be evaluated on its own merits.
Acknowledgments:
With thanks to David Quinn for sharing some of his Masters dissertation data (Oxford Brookes University 2013), and to my colleagues at University of Westminster for their support & encouragement.