Actual Nutrition and Dietary Supplementation in Lithuanian Elite Athletes

Abstract

Background and objectives: Health is partly determined by the state of one’s nutrition; it stimulates the body’s functional and metabolic adaptations to physical strain and helps one prevent sports injuries and get in shape in terms of body composition. This study aims to investigate the actual nutrition and dietary supplements taken by elite Lithuanian athletes and to identify the relationship between the dietary intake, dietary supplementation and body composition of elite athletes. Materials and Methods: The research subjects were 76.7% of Lithuanian elite athletes (N = 247). The actual diet was investigated using the 24 h recall dietary survey method. Dietary supplementation was studied applying the questionnaire method. Measurements of body composition were performed using the BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) tetra-polar electrodes and measuring resistivity with 8–12 tangent electrodes at different frequencies of signal: 5, 50 and 250 kHz. Results: Results indicate that among the athletes, 62% use too few carbohydrates and 77% use too much fat. Although the 3.5% increase in lean body mass (95% CI: −0.107, 7.070) helps gain an increased protein intake with food (p = 0.057), 38% of athletes consume too little protein with food. The athletes mostly use carbohydrates (86%), vitamins (81%), protein supplements (70%), and multivitamins (62%). We did not determine the impact (p > 0.05) of individual or complex supplement use on the lean body mass (%) or fat mass (%) values of athletes. Conclusions: Athletes consume insufficient carbohydrates, vitamin D, calcium, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and too much fat, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and they use proteins irrationally. Sport nutritionists should also focus on the risk of malnutrition for female athletes. Nutritional supplements partially offset macronutrient and micronutrient deficiency. Nevertheless, the effect of food supplements on the body composition of athletes is too small compared to the normal diet. Athletes ought to prioritize the formation of eating habits and only then use supplements.

Profiles for identifying problematic dietary habits in a sample of recreational Spanish cyclists and triathletes

“…To our knowledge, this is the first research study to examine the prevalence of supplementation in recreational endurance athletes whilst also considering the two different sporting disciplines of cycling and triathlon. The proportion of participants that reported often taking supplements in our study is much lower than that reported in other studies with professional athletes 45 , 46 . The majority of participants who took supplements opted to take protein, multivitamins, minerals and omega-3.…”

Profiles for Identifying Problematic Dietary Habits in a Sample of Recreational Spanish Cyclists and Triathletes

“…To our knowledge, this is the rst research study to examine the prevalence of supplementation in recreational endurance athletes whilst also considering the two different sporting disciplines of cycling and triathlon. The proportion of participants that reported often taking supplements in our study is much lower than that reported in other studies with professional athletes [35][36] . The majority of participants who took supplements, opted to take protein, multivitamins, minerals and omega-3.…”

Sex Differences in Supplement Intake in Recreational Endurance Runners—Results from the NURMI Study (Step 2)

“…For instance, evidence indicates that females in track and field [ 48 ] and males in strength sports [ 68 ] use more supplements compared to their counterparts of the opposite sex. Additionally, evidence shows that despite no overall sex-based difference in the amount of supplement intake [ 62 ], male athletes were more likely to consume protein and ergogenic supplements associated with maintaining and improving muscle mass/strength, and female athletes were most likely to consume micronutrient supplements, which are typically considered health-related supplements [ 62 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 69 ]. This general sex-based difference in the type of supplement intake could be associated with either the greater training volume of male than female runners [ 67 ] or the different sex-based intrinsic causes to use dietary supplements; males reported the gain of muscle mass and strength/power as a higher priority than health or meeting dietary guidelines and females mentioned health as their first priority for consuming dietary supplements [ 70 , 71 ].…”

“…Regarding the type of supplement, the present results showed that vitamin supplements had the most usage prevalence in male and female runners alike. Despite consistent data indicating the higher prevalence of multivitamins among athletes [ 72 , 73 ], there is some contradictory evidence demonstrating proteins [ 62 ] or carbohydrates [ 69 ] are the supplements most taken by athletes, especially male athletes [ 69 ]. While this difference could potentially be contributing to the higher number of vegan/vegetarian runners in the present study, different nutritional requirements of athletes competing in different types of sports could be considered a key factor to justify this contradiction [ 62 ].…”