Impact of a nutrition education program on gymnasts perceptions and eating practices

Abstract Aims: To understand how participating in a Nutrition & Health Education program (NHEP) affected the way rhythm gymnasts and their coaches perceive their food practices. Methods: Qualitative study portraying a case study of a NHEP specifically designed for a rhythm gymnastic team. The NHEP was conducted at the training facilities. Fourteen rhythm gymnasts, consisting of the team that represents a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and their two coaches participated in the study. Athletes and coaches were interviewed about their perceptions and food practices before and after a 9-month NHEP designed specifically for them. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Two categories emerged from the discourses and were analyzed using the content analysis: "beliefs and feeding practices" and "construction of a positive relationship with food". Results: Athletes reported changes in their food practices related to the themes discussed with them in the NHEP, such as daily breakfast intake, higher intake of fruits, vegetables, milk products, and wholegrain foods. Conclusion: The NHEP allowed specific demands of the athletes to be identified and addressed, generating awareness and motivation to positive changes in eating practices.

Diet Quality Profile of Track-and-Field Paralympic Athletes.

This study aimed to assess the diet quality of Brazilian Paralympic track-and-field team sprinters and its variation between days. All sprinters (n = 28) were invited, and 20 (13 men and seven women) accepted the invitation consisting of 13 athletes with visual impairment, four with cerebral palsy, and three with limb deficiency. The dietary intake was recorded by photographic register on four consecutive days, and diet quality was determined using a revised version of the Healthy Eating Index for the Brazilian population. Physical activity was assessed using an accelerometer, and metabolic unit information was used to classify exercise intensity. Variance Analysis Model and Bonferroni multiple comparisons were used to assess relationships between variables. The correlations between variables used Pearson linear correlation coefficient. The results show that revised version of the Healthy Eating Index score was classified as "needs to be modified" for all athletes. The maximum score for the components "Whole fruits," "Total vegetables," and "Dark green and orange vegetables and legumes" was achieved by 23.1% and 14.3%, 7.7% and 14.3%, and 46.2% and 57.8% of male and female athletes, respectively. Only 38.5% of the male athletes achieved the maximum score for the "Total cereal" component. Female athletes achieved higher scores than male athletes for the "Milk and dairy products" component (p = .03). Intake of whole grain cereals, dairy products, vegetables, and whole fruits needs modifications to improve adequate intake of vitamins and antioxidants, highlighting the need of continuous actions of nutrition education for this population.

Effect of the intake of high or low glycemic index high carbohydrate-meals on athletes' sleep quality in pre-game nights.

This study investigated the effect of the intake of high (HGI) or low glycemic index (LGI) high-carbohydrate meals on athletes' sleep. Nine basketball adult male athletes were assessed during a championship and received high-carbohydrate meals (dinner and evening snack) with HGI or LGI. Quantitative and qualitative sleep variables were assessed: sleep latency (LAT), sleep efficiency (EFIC), Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO), sleep time through actigraphy and sleep diary. Dietary intake, satiety, sleepiness, glycemic response, salivary cortisol and melatonin were also assessed. On both days most athletes had LAT and WASO higher than recommendation, and nocturnal sleep time below the recommendations. There was no difference between sleep and hormonal parameters according to GI dietary manipulations; however, correlations were observed between sleep and diet. Daily energy intake had negative correlation with efficiency and nocturnal total sleep time, and a positive correlation with WASO, regardless of the GI nocturnal meals. No differences were observed in salivary cortisol and melatonin according to GI. The results suggest that food intake throughout the day seems to exert more influence on sleep parameters of basketball players than GI manipulation of evening meals on the pre-night game, but further studies are necessary to better understand this complex relationship.

Body composition and nutritional profile of male adolescent tennis players.

In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the body composition and dietary intake of 44 adolescent tennis players. After being divided into two groups (age 10-13 years and age 14-18), the players had their weight, height, and sexual maturation assessed. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess body composition. Food intake was obtained from a non-consecutive 4-day food record. The data were analysed using the Virtual Nutri v.1.0 software and compared with the present recommendations for adolescent athletes or dietary reference intakes. Body mass index and body fat for tennis practice were adequate for 89% and 71% of the tennis players respectively, regardless of age group. A calorie deficit greater than 10% of energy expenditure was observed in 32% of the sample. Fifty percent of the athletes consumed carbohydrates in accordance with recommended values. Protein and lipid intakes were above recommended values, while fibre, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and folic acid intakes were below recommendation for 98%, 80%, 100%, 100%, and 98% of the tennis players respectively. The observed nutritional deficiencies represent an additional barrier for adolescents engaged in competitive sports to achieve an optimum nutrition to maintain growth, health, and performance.

Impact of nutrition support teams on hospitals' nutritional support in the largest South American city and its metropolitan area.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the practice of nutritional therapy (NT) by NT multiprofessional teams (NTMTs) in hospitals of the São Paulo metropolitan region to verify its adequacy in meeting the legislation that regulates NT in Brazil. METHODS: This was an open prospective study using active research through an inquiry with a multiple-choice, directed, and descriptive questionnaire, which was evaluated using EPI Info 6.04. Data were presented as median and 25th and 75th percentiles and compared according to the considered outcome. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of 119 evaluated hospitals in the São Paulo metropolitan region, 84 were located in the city itself and 35 in the surrounding cities. There were 52 hospitals with NTMTs: 35 in the city of São Paulo and 13 in the other cities. No significant statistical differences were found when comparing the hospitals according to size (small, average, large, and specialized) and to the presence of a NTMT. We observed that the philanthropic institutions presented a significantly higher frequency of NTMTs presence. The private, academic, and public hospitals did not present significant differences with regard to the presence of NTMTs. CONCLUSION: The number of NTMTs in the hospitals of the São Paulo metropolitan area is below the requirement established by law; the existence of a NTMT is more frequent in medium and large hospitals; the purchase of the necessary supplies and equipment for the NT practice is more adequate in hospitals with non-public reimbursement; the NTMTs in non-public hospitals were found to be more competent than those in public hospitals in implementing enteral and parenteral nutrition; private hospitals offer better conditions for professional growth for a NTMT staff compared with public hospitals.