Evaluation of Pragmatic Methods to Rapidly Assess Habitual Beverage Intake and Hydration Status in U.S. Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

Fluid intake recommendations have been established for the athletic population in order to promote adequate hydration. The Beverage Intake Questionnaire (BEVQ-15) is a quick and reliable food frequency questionnaire that quantifies habitual beverage intake, which has been validated in children, adolescents, and adults. However, no validated beverage consumption questionnaire is available for collegiate athletes. Urine color (UC), while feasible for determining hydration status, has not been validated within a variety of collegiate athletes. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the comparative validity and reliability of pragmatic methods to rapidly assess BEVQ-15 and UC rating in U.S. Division I collegiate athletes. Student-athletes (n = 120; 54% females; age 19 ± 1 years) from two universities were recruited to complete three study sessions. At the first and third sessions, the participants completed the BEVQ-15 and provided a urine sample to determine UC and urinary specific gravity. All sessions included completion of a 24-hr dietary recall. Total fluid intake (fl oz) was 111 ± 107 and 108 ± 42 using the BEVQ-15 and the mean of three 24-hr dietary recalls, respectively, which was not different between methods (p > .05). There were moderate associations between the BEVQ-15 and dietary recall results for total beverage intake fl oz and kcal(r = .413 and r = 4.65; p ≤ .05, respectively). Strong associations were noted between both researcher-rated and participant-rated UC with urinary specific gravity measures (r = .675 and r = .884; p ≤ .05, respectively). Therefore, these rapid assessment methods demonstrated acceptable validity and may be used as practical methods to determine whether athletes are meeting their hydration recommendations.

Do Current Pre-Exercise Fluid Recommendations for Athletes Need to be Updated? A Short Review

“…However, the justification for these fluid amounts is difficult to discern and the prevalence of dehydration among collegiate athletes before practice still ranges from 65-75%. 10,16,35 Therefore, the purpose of this review was to identify current pre-exercise fluid recommendations and protocols and their sources.…”

“…Urine color has been established as a valid hydration assessment method within several populations, against urine osmolality and USG. [10][11][12] Researchers determined that euhydration, based on urine color is considered < 4 on the urine color chart. [13][14][15] Researchers using USG, through the use of a handheld refractometer, determined that euhydration for athletes could range from 1.018-1.020 when looking at 24hr USG samples and 1.024-1.026 for a first morning USG sample.…”

“…In fact, field researchers have discovered that the prevalence of dehydration among athletes, primarily before exercise, is approximately 70%. 10,16,35 Moreover, the recommendations that have been extensively studied and adapted are for post-exercise (i.e., rehydration) rather than pre-exercise. Therefore, this review aims to examine the evidence of preexercise fluid recommendations and protocols that were developed and are currently utilized by athletes and sports practitioners.…”

The effect of acute dehydration on agility, quickness and balance performance in elite wrestlers

“…One of the main reasons why wrestlers lose weight before the competition is that they have the psychology of thinking that the chance of medals is higher in a lower class and that the competition will contribute positively to them. However, considering the literature, studies on weight loss generally indicate that dehydration causes physical and physiological decline in athletes [4][5][6][7]. As there is a change in the hydration status of the athletes who lost weight before the competition, depending on the food and fluid restriction; It has been reported that symptoms such as sleep disturbance, memory, depression, learning, anxiety, body temperature irregularity and muscle function disorders can be observed [8].…”