title: Nutritional habits among high-performance endurance athletes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  For athletes, the main purpose of nutrition is to ensure the compensation of increased energy consumption and the need for nutrients in the athlete's body, thereby enabling maximum adaptation to physical loads. The aim of this study was to determine the habits of highly trained endurance athletes depending on sports type, sex and age in order to improve the planning and management of the training of athletes using targeted measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2009-2012, the dietary habits of 146 endurance athletes were analyzed. The actual diet of Lithuania endurance athletes was investigated using a 24-h dietary survey method. Data on the athletes' actual diet were collected for the previous day.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that 80.8% of endurance athletes used lower-than-recommended amounts of carbohydrates in their diet, and more than 70% of athletes used higher-than-recommended levels of fat, saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol. The diet of female athletes was low in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, and zinc. Athletes aged 14-18 years tended to consume quantities of protein that were either lower than recommended or excessive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diet of highly trained endurance athletes does not fully meet their requirements and in this situation cannot ensure maximum adaptation to very intense and/or long-duration physical loads. The diet of highly trained endurance athletes must be optimized, adjusted and individualized. Particular attention should be focused on female athletes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania; Lithuanian Olympic Sports Center, Vilnius, Lithuania. Electronic address: marius.baranauskas9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baranauskas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Rimantas
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stukas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania; Scientific Sports Institute, Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Linas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tubelis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Kęstutis
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Žagminas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Genė
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Šurkienė
authors.affiliation: Lithuanian Sports Medicine Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Edmundas
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Švedas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Vincentas Rolandas
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Giedraitis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Valerij
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dobrovolskij
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Jonas Algis
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Abaravičius
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D056352:Athletes; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008097:Lithuania; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*; D064133:Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000067009:Youth Sports
keywords: Endurance athletes; High-performance; Nutritional habits