Caloric Restriction Diet (CR diet) or Mediterranean Diet (MD) - Which is the Best Choice for Former Athletes?

Abstract

Overweight or obesity which often develop in athletes who end their careers is one of the most important issues of the world of sport. During aging, an increase in the amount of intra-abdominal fat is observed; this fat increases the risk of such metabolic disease as diabetes or hypertension. The participants of the study were 94 males. The people were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: group 1 – people using the diet based on calorie restriction CRON (n = 32), and group 2 – those who followed the recommendations of the Mediterranean diet (n = 34). The patients who at the check-up declared not following any diet were assigned to the control group (n = 28). A change in parameters was observed in each of the sub-groups after the intervention. The most significant changes were observed in the sub-group which lost >2.6 kg. Both the diet based on mild calorie restriction and the Mediterranean diet had positive effect on the change of the former athlete’s body parameters after the 6-week long dietary intervention. Both diets which were being tested changed the body composition of the athletes who ended their careers in a similar way.