Oxidative stress, inflammation, psychological status, and severity of respiratory infections are negatively affected during the pre-contest period in amateur bodybuilders.

We examined whether off-season (OffS) and pre-contest (PreC) periods affect blood oxidative stress, inflammatory, immunological, and psychological markers in 20 bodybuilders. The athletes recorded their food intake (3-day record), physical activities, mood states (Profile of Mood States, POMS), recovery-stress (Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes, RESTQ-Sport), and upper respiratory symptoms (Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey, WURSS-21), and blood was obtained for biochemical analysis. Almost all athletes were in positive energy balance during OffS, while bodybuilders presented markedly restricted energy intake (∼45%) leading to loss of weight (-9%) and fat mass (-45%) with preservation of fat-free mass in PreC. Protein intake was high during both periods, while lipid and carbohydrate intakes were reduced ∼50% in PreC. Almost all athletes consumed 100% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for micronutrients in OffS, while 45% and 75% of the athletes had intakes below the RDA for vitamins A and E in PreC. Oxidative damage to lipids (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), protein carbonyls, and the TBARS/total antioxidant capacity ratio increased in PreC (32%, 27%, 60%), as did plasma tumor necrosis factor α (4-fold) and WURSS-21 scores (25%). There were no significant changes in serum catalase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase activities nor in interleukin 1ß and immunoglobulins. In PreC, POMS showed negative changes in vigor (-20%), fatigue (23%), and total mood disturbance (35%), and RESTQ-Sport showed alterations for general and sport stress (34% and 50%, respectively) and sport recovery (-23%). Thus, PreC negatively affects nutrient intake, which may worsen oxidative stress, inflammation, psychological status, and the severity of respiratory infections in bodybuilders.

Producto de acumulación lipídica está asociado con glucemia en estudiantes universitarias / Lipid accumulation product is associated with blood glucose in female university students

The use of anthropometric indexes, to follow up cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, has been the focus of several studies during the last years. The Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP) innovates in combining waist circumference (WC), an anthropometric parameter, with fasting triglycerides, a biochemical parameter: the. The LAP was proposed in 2005 by Kahn as a better index than the Body Mass Index (BMI) to predict cardiovascular risk. The few studies published do not present LAP in young female population. For this reason, our study analyzed the association between LAP and fasting glycemia in female university students. A significant positive correlation was found, confirming previous studies with different populations.

La utilización de índices antropométricos para rastrear factores de riesgo cardiovascular y metabólico, ha sido de interés en varios estudios durante los últimos años. El Producto de Acumulación Lipídica (PAL) innova al combinar la circunferencia de cintura (CC), el cual es un parámetro antropométrico, con un parámetro bioquímico: los triglicéridos en ayunas. Kahn propuso el PAL el año 2005 como un índice mejor que el Indice de Masa Corporal (IMC) para predecir riesgo cardiovascular. Algunos estudios publicados no muestran el PAL en una población de mujeres jóvenes. Por esta razón, el objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la asociación entre PAL y la glucemia en ayunas en estudiantes universitarias. Se detectó una correlación significativamente positiva, confirmando estudios previos en diferentes poblaciones.