Dietary factors related to fitness in young men and women.
BACKGROUND
In a previous paper we reported an inverse relationship between fitness and serum lipids in this group of young subjects. The present study investigates whether a higher fitness level was associated with a more prudent diet and whether this contributed to the observed relationship between fitness and serum lipids.


METHODS
The study sample, comprising 70 women and 49 men ages 23-27 years, was a subgroup of a large random sample. Aerobic fitness was measured directly as maximal oxygen uptake (ml O2 min-1 kg-1) and dietary intake as 7-day food records.


RESULTS
The highest fitness tertile had an intake of dietary fiber higher than that of the lowest tertile (25.2 g/10 MJ vs 21.9 g/10 MJ, P < 0.05) and a lower intake of sucrose (7.2 E% vs 9.8 E%, P < 0.01), whereas total fat intake and the ratio between polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids were similar (35.4 E% vs 36.5 E%, P > 0.05, 0.39 vs 0.34, P > 0.05, respectively). No differences were observed in intake of alcohol, protein, and total carbohydrate. Multiple regression analyses showed no impact of dietary variables upon the relationship between serum lipids and fitness.


CONCLUSIONS
Better fitness was associated with a better dietary composition with respect to dietary fiber and sucrose, but not to fat. The observed inverse relationship between fitness and serum lipids was not related to diet.
Research Department of Human Nutrition, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark.
J
J
Haraldsdóttir
L B
LB
Andersen
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012494:Sampling Studies
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D008055:Lipids; D010100:Oxygen