Effects of high calorie, protein, calcium and iron Dietary intervention on nutritional status and body composition of long distance athletes- Ngong’ training Camp, Kenya

Abstract

In recent times a number of athletes have used prohibited substances such as anabolic steroids to enhance their performance and have ended up being suspended from international competitions. This shows a growing need for foods for sports’ enhancement that work and that are affordable. The objective of the study was to develop a food supplement from local foods that was high in energy, protein, calcium and iron and test its’ efficacy in improving nutritional status of the athletes. It was designed to comprise of food supplement development, baseline assessment and dietary intervention with the first two months serving as control where only sports’ nutrition education was offered. Consequently, pre-intervention assessment was conducted on all the study participants. This was followed by a subsequent two months’ supplementation period, after which post-intervention assessment was done to determine efficacy of the product in improving nutritional and body composition status of the athletes. Athletes involved in the study included 13 men and 11 women randomly selected from a population of 36 athletes. Apart from hemoglobin levels, Anthropometric assessments included weight, height and body mass index (BMI) whereas body composition assessment included; fat free mass, percentage body fat, percentage body water and bone mass. In this study, women showed significant improvement in both % body fat and body water, whereas men had significant improvement in mean Body Mass Index and Fat Free Mass. Both men and women groups showed significant improvement in the mean hemoglobin levels at the end of the study. The study concluded that there was a need to ensure adequate nutrition for optimal nutritional status of long-distance athletes.