Dietary intake, anthropometric profile and somatotype in university athletes: Differences between gender and sports practiced

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Research on energy intake, nutrient intake, and anthropometric measurements in elite athletes is extensive, while it is limited in university athletes (UA), where a specific modality segments it. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the dietary intake, anthropometric profile, somatotype in UA, and differences between gender and sports modalities practiced. METHODS: A descriptive and observational study was conducted, including UA from Ecuador’s Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil (CUSG). Dietary intake was evaluated with a 24-hour recall questionnaire, an anthropometric profile with the ISAK protocol, and the somatotype using the Heath and Carter formula. Normality tests of Shapiro Wilk and Kolmogorov Smirnov were performed; mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated, and to establish statistical significance, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 29 males and 51 females, with a mean of 21.1 years. Energy intake, macronutrients, micronutrients, and fiber consumption showed no differences regardless of the sport practiced. The mean somatotype of male athletes was categorized as endomesomorphic and females as mesoendomorph. CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained through the anthropometric variables and used to determine the somatotypes confirmed that sexual dimorphism presented differences in size, muscle development, and body fat percentage.

Somatotipo y Composición Corporal de Triatletas Élite y Proyección de la Provincia del Azuay

“…El somatotipo se define como el perfil físico de un deportista, que se evalúa mediante tres componentes cuantitativos, estos son endomórfico, mesomórfico, y ectomórfico, en donde si el resultado de un componente es inferior a 2,5, se considera bajo, de 3 a 5 medio y de 5,5 a 7 como alto, mientras que los datos que superan 7,5 se consideran extremos. (Poveda-Loor et al 2019;Tóth et al 2014) La división de los tres componentes es la siguiente:…”

“…2020), evaluaron las características antropométricas en base al perfil restringido, permitiendo dividir la masa corporal en 5 componentes: tejidos, piel, residual, óseo, adiposo, residual y muscular; además se tomó en cuenta el protocolo de marcaje y evaluación ISAK; indican que un somatotipo mesomorfo balanceado en hombres y en mujeres. Concluyendo que los deportistas elegidos tienen un alto nivel de desarrollo de masa muscular, un mínimo de grasa corporal y un somatotipo balanceado.Por otro lado,(Poveda-Loor et. al.…”