title: Food intake patterns of marathon runners.
abstract: A group of marathon runners (290 males, 54 females, mean age 39.7 +/- 0.7 years) who participated in the Los Angeles Marathon recorded their food and fluid intake throughout a 3-day period, with the time of day denoted for each entry. Investigators coded each subject's food intake according to six time periods: 5:00-8:59 a.m., 9:00-10:59 a.m., 11:00 a.m.-1:59 p.m., 2:00-3:59 p.m., 4:00-7:59 p.m., and 8:00 p.m.-4:59 a.m. The average intake of the runners consisted of 314 +/- 6 g (52.3%) carbohydrates, 83.2 +/- 2.0 g (30.7%) fat, and 99.7 +/- 2.3 g (16.5%) protein. Time periods for breakfast (13.7%), lunch (23.8%), and supper (34.0%) accounted for 71.5% of total caloric intake, with snack time periods contributing 28.5%. Breakfast calories were 68.9 +/- 0.9% carbohydrate and 20.4 +/- 0.7% fat in contrast to supper calories, which were 47.7 +/- 0.8% and 31.8 +/- 0.6%, respectively. A sizable proportion of the daily caloric intake of recreational marathon runners is contributed by snacks and food intake after 4:00 p.m.
authors.affiliation: Department of Home Economics, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Nieman
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Herring
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004034:Diet Surveys; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012420:Running