Nutritional status of adventure racers.
OBJECTIVE
We describe the usual food intake, body composition, and biochemical profile of adventure racers during their training season and evaluate their energy and nutrient intake in relation to current recommendations for ultraendurance athletes.


METHODS
Twenty-four adventure race athletes (18 men and 6 women), 24 to 42 y of age, participated in the study. Food intake was determined with a 3-d food record and body composition by plethysmography. Blood samples were obtained from all subjects for biochemical analyses. All assessments were made during the usual training phase.


RESULTS
Female athletes had a higher body fat percentage than did male athletes (20.2 +/- 5.7% versus 12.5 +/- 3.5%). For men and women, food intake was high in protein (1.9 +/- 0.5 g/kg in men, 2.0 +/- 0.4 g/kg in women) and fat (1.6 +/- 0.3 g/kg in men, 1.5 +/- 1.3 g/kg in women). Carbohydrate intake of male athletes was at the lower limit of that recommended (5.9 +/- 1.8 g/kg). For most vitamins and minerals, athletes' intake was adequate, with the exception of magnesium, zinc, and potassium in men and women and vitamin E and calcium in women, which presented a high probability of being inadequate compared with reference values. High blood levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were found in female athletes (201.0 +/- 44.7 and 104.1 +/- 43.1 mg/dL, respectively) and all other biochemical analyses were within normal reference values.


CONCLUSIONS
The adventure racers presented an inadequate nutritional profile when compared with recommendations for endurance exercise. These athletes need to be educated about consuming an adequate diet to meet the nutritional needs of their activity.
Zalcman
Ioná
I
Department of Psychobiology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. iona@psicobio.epm.br <iona@psicobio.epm.br>
Guarita
Heloisa Vidigal
HV
Juzwiak
Claudia Ridel
CR
Crispim
Cibele Aparecida
CA
Antunes
Hanna Karen Moreira
HK
Edwards
Ben
B
Tufik
Sérgio
S
de Mello
Marco Túlio
MT
D000328:Adult; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D015930:Diet Records; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000097:blood; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*; D010991:Plethysmography; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014815:Vitamins / Q000097:blood
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D008903:Minerals; D014815:Vitamins