Profiles for identifying problematic dietary habits in a sample of recreational Spanish cyclists and triathletes
Metadatos
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Muros Molina, José Joaquín; Knox, Emily; Hinojosa Nogueira, Daniel José; Rufián Henares, José Ángel; Zabala Díaz, MikelEditorial
Nature
Fecha
2021-07-26Referencia bibliográfica
Muros, J.J... [et al.]. Profiles for identifying problematic dietary habits in a sample of recreational Spanish cyclists and triathletes. Sci Rep 11, 15193 (2021). [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94660-0]
Patrocinador
research project Stance4Health - European Union 816303; Plan Propio de Investigacion y Transferencia of the University of Granada under the "Intensificacion de la Investigacion, modalidad B" programResumen
There is a lack of sufficient information on the dietary intake and nutritional supplementation of
recreational endurance athletes throughout the year. The present observational study sought
to assess the dietary intake and nutritional supplementation habits of recreational cyclists and
triathletes from Spain. 4,037 cyclists and triathletes completed self-report measures. Nutritional
profiles were developed and differences were examined according to sporting discipline and gender.
Differences between groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U or chi-squared test. Next,
micro- and macro-nutrients were grouped according to whether or not guideline intake amounts were
met. The clustering of dietary habits was then examined via K-means cluster analysis. Triathletes
took more supplements than cyclists (X2 = 36.489; p value = .000) and females took more supplements
than males (X2 = 5.920; p value = .017). Females and triathletes reported greater protein and CHO
consumption than males and cyclists, respectively. Triathletes also reported a higher consumption
of total fat, MUFA, PUFA, EPA, DHA and fibre. Females and triathletes tended to consume more
vitamins and minerals than males and cyclists, respectively. Two main dietary habit clusters
emerged which may be used to inform nutritional interventions targeting recreational athletes not
meeting nutritional requirements. There is an imbalance in the main nutrients making up the diet of
recreational Spanish athletes, characterised by insufficient CHO and excessive protein.