The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diet, training habits and fitness of Masters cyclists.

Background: The number of Masters-level athletes (≥ 35 years of age) taking part in cycling has increased in the past years which may have beneficial effects on their health. The restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to negatively impact the diet, training and fitness of these individuals due to restrictions in place to slow the spread of the virus. Aim: To investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the diet, training and fitness of Masters-level cyclists. Methods: 32 Masters cyclists (12 males, 20 females; mean age 47 ± 10 years) completed two incremental exercise tests one month apart during the pandemic to assess sport-specific fitness. Participants also completed online questionnaires to report their sedentary behavior and dietary intake before and during the pandemic, and their training volume and intensity for a specified week in February (before the pandemic) and each of March, April and May (during the pandemic). Results: No differences were seen in fitness (p = 0.6), training volume (p = 0.24) or intensity (p = 0.79) and sedentary behavior (p = 0.14) during the pandemic. Energy intake was unchanged (p = 1.0) during the pandemic, but participants consumed lower amounts of key nutrients such as fiber, vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids and potassium (p < 0.05) while consuming more alcohol (p = 0.008) and vitamin C (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Our data shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has undesirable effects on nutrient and alcohol intake of Masters cyclists without impacting their training regimes, which may have adverse effects on their overall health and fitness in the long term.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet, fitness, and sedentary behaviour of elite para-athletes.

BACKGROUND: With the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Paralympic Games were postponed, impacting the athletes' competition schedule for the year. Due to the interrupted competition schedule and potentially decreased motivation, Paralympic athletes may be at risk for a highly disrupted training schedule, impacting their ability to prepare for the 2021 Games. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the training, diet, and fitness of Paralympic cyclists and triathletes. METHODS: Twenty-four paracyclists and one paratriathlete (15 females and 10 males; age 37.6 ± 9.3 years) completed two incremental exercise tests to assess sport-specific fitness and reported their training volume and intensity for a specified week prior to the pandemic (February) and again in March, April, and May (during pandemic). Participants also reported their dietary intake and sedentary screen time prior to and during the pandemic. RESULTS: The amount of time spent engaging in sedentary screen time increased from 4.5 to 6.1 h (p < .001). No effect of the pandemic was found for training volume (14.2 vs 12.5 h; p = .18), intensity (678 vs 650; p = .36), or dietary intake (p > .05). While fitness test duration was nominally increased for the second test (27.3 vs 27.9 min; p = .02), no difference was seen in fitness (average power output: 201 W vs 204 W; p = .5). CONCLUSION: Time spent engaging in sedentary screen time activities increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were no differences in training, fitness, or dietary intake over a short-term (3 months), demonstrating the resilience of these athletes.

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on university students' dietary intake, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour.

University students are a vulnerable group for poor dietary intake, insufficient physical activity and sedentary behaviour. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on university students' dietary intake, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour. Participants were students (n = 125) from the Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina. An online questionnaire was administered retrospectively (for prepandemic) and prospectively (during the pandemic) to examine students' dietary intake, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour. Overall, nutrient and caloric intakes were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) during the pandemic, and alcohol intake increased (p = 0.03). Before the pandemic, 16% and 54% of the participants were meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults (18-64 years) of 150 min of moderate-vigorous physical activity and 8 h or less of sedentary activity, respectively. Only 10% met the guidelines for physical activity while 30% met the guidelines for sedentary behaviour during the pandemic. The minutes per week spent engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity during the pandemic decreased by approximately 20% (p < 0.001). The hours spent in sedentary activities increased by 3 h per day (p < 0.001). Our findings confirm that during the pandemic, students' inadequate dietary intake, high alcohol consumption, low physical activity, and high sedentary behaviour were significantly compounded. Novelty: During COVID-19, the nutrient and caloric intakes of university students decreased, and alcohol intake increased significantly. University students' physical activity levels decreased, and sedentary activity increased significantly during COVID-19. During COVID-19 students did not engage in sufficient physical activity to offset the increased sedentary behaviour.

Wearing of Cloth or Disposable Surgical Face Masks has no Effect on Vigorous Exercise Performance in Healthy Individuals.

Wearing face masks is recommended for the prevention of contracting or exposing others to cardiorespiratory infections, such as COVID-19. Controversy exists on whether wearing face masks during vigorous exercise affects performance. We used a randomized, counterbalanced cross-over design to evaluate the effects of wearing a surgical mask, a cloth mask, or no mask in 14 participants (7 men and 7 women; 28.2 ± 8.7 y) during a cycle ergometry test to exhaustion. Arterial oxygen saturation (pulse oximetry) and tissue oxygenation index (indicator of hemoglobin saturation/desaturation) at vastus lateralis (near-infrared spectroscopy) were assessed throughout the exercise tests. Wearing face masks had no effect on performance (time to exhaustion (mean ± SD): no mask 622 ± 141 s, surgical mask 657 ± 158 s, cloth mask 637 ± 153 s (p = 0.20); peak power: no mask 234 ± 56 W, surgical mask 241 ± 57 W, cloth mask 241 ± 51 W (p = 0.49)). When expressed relative to peak exercise performance, no differences were evident between wearing or not wearing a mask for arterial oxygen saturation, tissue oxygenation index, rating of perceived exertion, or heart rate at any time during the exercise tests. Wearing a face mask during vigorous exercise had no discernable detrimental effect on blood or muscle oxygenation, and exercise performance in young, healthy participants (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04557605).

Wearing of Cloth or Disposable Surgical Face Masks has no Effect on Vigorous Exercise Performance in Healthy Individuals

Wearing face masks is recommended for the prevention of contracting or exposing others to cardiorespiratory infections, such as COVID-19. Controversy exists on whether wearing face masks during vigorous exercise affects performance. We used a randomized, counterbalanced cross-over design to evaluate the effects of wearing a surgical mask, a cloth mask, or no mask in 14 participants (7 men and 7 women;28.2 ±8.7 y) during a cycle ergometry test to exhaustion. Arterial oxygen saturation (pulse oximetry) and tissue oxygenation index (indicator of hemoglobin saturation/desaturation) at vastus lateralis (near-infrared spectroscopy) were assessed throughout the exercise tests. Wearing face masks had no effect on performance (time to exhaustion (mean ±SD): no mask 622 ±141 s, surgical mask 657 ±158 s, cloth mask 637 ±153 s (p = 0.20);peak power: no mask 234 ±56 W, surgical mask 241 ±57 W, cloth mask 241 ±51 W (p = 0.49)). When expressed relative to peak exercise performance, no differences were evident between wearing or not wearing a mask for arterial oxygen saturation, tissue oxygenation index, rating of perceived exertion, or heart rate at any time during the exercise tests. Wearing a face mask during vigorous exercise had no discernable detrimental effect on blood or muscle oxygenation, and exercise performance in young, healthy participants (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04557605).