Nutritional Knowledge and Dietary Practice in Elite 24-Hour Ultramarathon Runners: A Brief Report.

Roberto Citarella,Dima Kreidieh,Marwan El Ghoch,Hana Tannir,Stefano Scevaroli,Dana El Masri,Leila Itani,Gregorio Zucchinali,Vito Intini

doi:10.3390/sports7020044

Abstract

Several factors contribute to athletes’ sporting performance and diet is a key component. Higher levels of nutritional knowledge seem to correlate with a higher quality of diet, but this remains poorly explored and findings are still not conclusive. The aim of our study was to assess nutritional knowledge and dietary adequacy, detecting any potential association between these two factors in elite 24-hour ultramarathon runners, a sport which seems to have been increasing in popularity over the last decade. Nutritional knowledge and Mediterranean dietary adequacy scores were assessed by means of validated questionnaires given to 10 elite ultramarathon runners (six males and four females) from the Italian Ultramarathon and Trail Association (IUTA). The overall nutritional knowledge in the entire sample of athletes seemed to be good, especially in terms of “dietary recommendations” and “nutrient sources” knowledge. However, females had higher total nutritional knowledge scores when compared to males. Finally, linear regression analysis showed that greater nutritional knowledge was positively associated with an increase in Mediterranean dietary adequacy scores (β = 1.27; 95% CI = 0.039–2.494; p = 0.045) after adjusting for level of education. Our findings provide evidence that higher nutritional knowledge is associated with better dietary practice in elite 24-hour ultramarathon runners. Future studies are needed to assess the usefulness of educational programs as a strategy to improve the adequacy of dietary intake in this specific population.

Highlights

Nutrition is an overlooked factor in athletes, despite its importance during sporting performance, post-exercise recovery and in the prevention of risk of injury [1,2].it has been shown that some athletes previously had inadequate diets in terms of energy intake and nutrient needs [3,4]
A positive association has been widely reported between nutritional knowledge and dietary intake, with the former seeming to be a pivotal factor influencing the latter [6]
The present study aimed to provide benchmark data on nutritional knowledge and dietary intake adequacy in the Italian national 24-hour ultramarathon team and two major findings were revealed

Summary

Introduction

Nutrition is an overlooked factor in athletes, despite its importance during sporting performance (i.e., training and competition), post-exercise recovery and in the prevention of risk of injury [1,2].it has been shown that some athletes previously had inadequate diets in terms of energy intake and nutrient needs [3,4]. The identification of strategies that can improve dietary intake in this under-represented population is crucial [5]. A positive association has been widely reported between nutritional knowledge and dietary intake, with the former seeming to be a pivotal factor influencing the latter [6]. Higher levels of knowledge are correlated with better diet quality [7]. Surprisingly, this remains relatively unexplored in athletes [8]. This remains relatively unexplored in athletes [8]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion