Dietary Intake Patterns And Risk Of Energy Deficiency In Ncaa Endurance Athletes

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PURPOSE: This study assessed dietary intake patterns among elite collegiate runners administered through a one-on-one counseling session with the team sports dietitian. METHODS: During the Fall sports seasons of 2015 to 2018, endurance runners from two NCAA Division I Cross-Country teams were asked to participate in a prospective study that focused on optimizing the health of the athletes. A 15 to 30-minute nutritional assessment involving the team sports dietitian was conducted. Runners in the current sample were non-injured. In the one-on-one nutrition counseling session, a standardized assessment evaluated the runner’s dietary intake patterns and nutritional risks. Data was analyzed using chi-square and independent-samples t-tests. RESULTS: Final analyses yielded data from 158 male and female runners (47.1% male; 52.9% female), averaging 66.2 ± 2.1 (males) and 49.0 ± 9.4 (females) miles per week. A total of 23.4% of runners reported not eating for >4 hours on 4 or more days of the week, while 92.4% reported eating within 30 minutes upon completing exercise. Average meals/day and snacks/day among the sample were 2.9 ± 0.50 and 2.6 ±1.1, respectively. Females, compared to males, were more likely to report eating <3 meals per day (23.2% of females vs. 2.7% of males, X2= 13.8, p<0.001), following a vegetarian or vegan diet (6.3% of females vs. 0% of males, X2= 4.7, p= 0.03), avoiding a food component or food group (31.6% of females vs. 11.0% of males, X2= 9.6, p= 0.002); Based on the one-on-one meeting/nutrition assessment, the sports RD noted higher proportion of female runners with an energy deficiency risk. (48.1% of female vs. 19.7% of males, X2= 12.1, p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most elite endurance runners reported eating a post-workout snack, which may aid in recovery efforts. As more females reported eating <3 meals per day it is recommended that females avoid skipping meals to reduce risk of energy deficiency and subsequent potential consequences to health and performance.