title: Diving response after a one-week diet and overnight fasting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We hypothesized that overnight fasting after a short dietary period, especially with carbohydrates, could allow performing breath-hold diving with no restraint for diaphragm excursion and blood shift and without any increase of metabolism, and in turn improve the diving response.
  
  
  METHODS
  During two separate sessions, 8 divers carried out two trials: (A) a 30-m depth dive, three hours after a normal breakfast and (B) a dive to the same depth, but after following a diet and fasting overnight. Each test consisted of 3 apnea phases: descent, static and ascent whose durations were measured by a standard chronometer. An impedance cardiograph, housed in an underwater torch, provided data on trans-thoracic fluid index (TFI), stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR) and cardiac output (CO). Mean blood pressure (MBP), arterial O2 saturation (SaO2), blood glucose (Glu) and blood lactate (BLa) were also collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In condition B, duration of the static phase of the dive was longer than A (37.8 ± 7.4 vs. 27.3 ± 8.4 s respectively, P < 0.05). In static phases, mean ∆ SV value (difference between basal and nadir values) during fasting was lower than breakfast one (-2.6 ± 5.1 vs. 5.7 ± 7.6 ml, P < 0.05). As a consequence, since mean ∆ HR values were equally decreased in both metabolic conditions, mean ∆ CO value during static after fasting was lower than the same phase after breakfast (-0.4 ± 0.5 vs. 0.4 ± 0.5 L · min(-1) respectively, P < 0.05). At emersion, despite the greater duration of dives during fasting, SaO2 was higher than A (92.0 ± 2.7 vs. 89.4 ± 2.9 % respectively, P < 0.05) and BLa was lower in the same comparison (4.2 ± 0.7 vs. 5.3 ± 1.1 mmol∙L(-1), P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An adequate balance between metabolic and splancnic status may improve the diving response during a dive at a depth of 30 m, in safe conditions for the athlete's health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghiani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marongiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Olla
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinna
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pusceddu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Girolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palazzolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roberto
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crisafulli
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Sport Medicine, Sport Physiology Lab, University of Cagliari, Via Porcell 4, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tocco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001049:Apnea; D001794:Blood Pressure; D062485:Breath Holding; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology; D004032:Diet; D004242:Diving / Q000502:physiology*; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006339:Heart Rate; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D064133:Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D013318:Stroke Volume
keywords: Breakfast; Cardiac output; Fasting; Free-diving