The diet of highly trained endurance athletes does not fully meet their requirements and in this situation cannot ensure maximum adaptation to very intense and/or long-duration physical loads. The diet of highly trained endurance athletes must be optimized, adjusted and individualized. Particular attention should be focused on female athletes.

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There are about 466 million people with hearing impairments in the world. The scientific literature does not provide sufficient data on the actual nutrition and other variables of professional deaf athletes. The objectives of this study were to investigate and evaluate the body composition, the physical working capacity, the nutrition intake, and the blood parameters of iron and vitamin D in the Lithuanian high-performance deaf women’s basketball team players. The female athletes (n = 14) of the Lithuanian deaf basketball team aged 26.4 ± 4.5 years were recruited for an observational cross-sectional study. A 7-day food recall survey method was used to investigate their actual diet. The measurements of the body composition were performed using the BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) tetra-polar electrodes. In order to assess the cardiorespiratory and aerobic fitness levels of athletes, ergo-spirometry (on a cycle ergometer) was used to measure the peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and the physical working capacity at a heart rate of 170 beats per minute (PWC170). The athletes’ blood tests were taken to investigate the red blood cells, hemoglobin, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, ferritin, transferrin, iron concentrations, and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC). The consideration of the VO2peak (55.9 ± 6.1 mL/min/kg of body weight, 95% CI: 51.8, 58.9) and the low VO2peak (56–60 mL/min/kg of body weight) (p = 0.966) in the deaf women’s basketball team players revealed no differences. For the deaf female athletes, the PWC170 was equal to 20.3 ± 2.0 kgm/min/kg of body weight and represented only the average aerobic fitness level. The carbohydrate and protein intakes (5.0 ± 1.3 and 1.3 ± 0.3 g/kg of body weight, respectively) met only the minimum levels recommended for athletes. The fat content of the diet (38.1 ± 4.1% of energy intake) exceeded the maximum recommended content (35% of energy intake) (p = 0.012). The mean blood serum concentrations of 25(OH)D and ferritin (24.1 ± 6.6 nmol/L and 11.0 ± 4.1 µg/L, respectively) predicted vitamin D and iron deficits in athletes. Female athletes had an increased risk of vitamin D and iron deficiencies. Regardless of iron deficiency in the body, the better cardiorespiratory fitness of the deaf female athletes was essentially correlated with the higher skeletal muscle mass (in terms of size) (r = 0.61, p = 0.023), the lower percentage of body fat mass (r = −0.53, p = 0.049), and the reduced intake of fat (r = −0.57, p = 0.040).

Physical exercise leads to metabolic changes that affect the acid-base balance in skeletal muscles and other tissues. Nutrition is one of the factors that may influence the acid-base balance in the body. Keeping alkaline circumstances in the body is important not only for health and athletic performance in training but also during competition in many sport events. This is especially significant for athletes who practice in sport at the highest level of competition. The aim of the study was to determine the dietary acid-base balance in competitive Lithuanian high-performance athletes, and to evaluate the effect of actual diets of athletes on NEAP (net endogenous acid production), muscle mass and body mineral content during a four-year Olympic cycle. The research participants were 18.1 ± 3.3-year-old Lithuanian high performance athletes (n = 323). The actual diet was investigated using the 24 h recall dietary survey method. The measurements of body composition were performed using BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis). The potential renal acid load of the diets of athletes (dietary PRAL) and NEAP were calculated. In 10.2% of athletes, NEAP exceeds 100 mEq · day−1 and is on average 126.1 ± 32.7 mEq · day−1. Higher NEAP in athletes is associated with lower muscle mass (β -1.2% of body weight, p < 0.001) but has no effect on the amount of minerals in the body (β 0.01% of body weight, p = 0.073). Overall, 25–30% of Lithuanian high-performance athletes use high-protein diets (2.0–4.8 g · kg−1 · day−1) leading to a dietary acid-base imbalance as well as an excessive production of endogenous acids in the body. Athletes are recommended to consume higher amounts of potassium and magnesium. An increase in calcium intake up to 1500 mg per day is recommended. In exceptional cases, periodised nutrition for athletes may involve diets complemented with bicarbonate and/or beta-alanine supplements.

Background and objectives: Health is partly determined by the state of one’s nutrition; it stimulates the body’s functional and metabolic adaptations to physical strain and helps one prevent sports injuries and get in shape in terms of body composition. This study aims to investigate the actual nutrition and dietary supplements taken by elite Lithuanian athletes and to identify the relationship between the dietary intake, dietary supplementation and body composition of elite athletes. Materials and Methods: The research subjects were 76.7% of Lithuanian elite athletes (N = 247). The actual diet was investigated using the 24 h recall dietary survey method. Dietary supplementation was studied applying the questionnaire method. Measurements of body composition were performed using the BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) tetra-polar electrodes and measuring resistivity with 8–12 tangent electrodes at different frequencies of signal: 5, 50 and 250 kHz. Results: Results indicate that among the athletes, 62% use too few carbohydrates and 77% use too much fat. Although the 3.5% increase in lean body mass (95% CI: −0.107, 7.070) helps gain an increased protein intake with food (p = 0.057), 38% of athletes consume too little protein with food. The athletes mostly use carbohydrates (86%), vitamins (81%), protein supplements (70%), and multivitamins (62%). We did not determine the impact (p > 0.05) of individual or complex supplement use on the lean body mass (%) or fat mass (%) values of athletes. Conclusions: Athletes consume insufficient carbohydrates, vitamin D, calcium, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and too much fat, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and they use proteins irrationally. Sport nutritionists should also focus on the risk of malnutrition for female athletes. Nutritional supplements partially offset macronutrient and micronutrient deficiency. Nevertheless, the effect of food supplements on the body composition of athletes is too small compared to the normal diet. Athletes ought to prioritize the formation of eating habits and only then use supplements.

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Tarptautiniu lygiu išaiškintos geros sveikatos ir pakankamo fizinio aktyvumo sąsajos yra nenuginčijamos. Dėl nepakankamo fizinio aktyvumo, nutukimo, gyvenimo trukmė gali sutrumpėti, daugėti lėtinių susirgimų, todėl būtina nuolatinė fizinio aktyvumo stebėsena. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti studentų kūno masės indeksą, fizinį aktyvumą ir jį lemiančius veiksnius. Vykdant tyrimą, buvo apklausti 278 studentai. Tiriamųjų amžius 20,83±1,68 metų. Atlikta studentų apklausa, panaudojant anketinės apklausos metodą. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad antsvoris būdingas kas dešimtam studentui (vyrui), o nepakankama kūno masė – kas dešimtai studentei (moteriai). Esminis sportuojančių studentų tikslas yra sveikatos gerinimas, tačiau 48,7 proc. fizinis aktyvumas yra nepakankamas (< 150 min per savaitę). Nepakankamą studentų fizinį aktyvumą dažniausiai lemia laiko trūkumas. Į nepakankamo fizinio aktyvumo grupę patenka Vilniaus universiteto studentės (moterys). Didžioji dalis (64,9 proc.) studentų sportuoja uždarose patalpose (sporto salėse, klubuose), bet per retai fizine veikla užsiima lauke, gryname ore. Perspektyvoje būtų racionalu į paskaitų tvarkaraščius įtraukti privalomąsias kūno kultūros pratybas, ugdyti studentų sveikos gyvensenos įgūdžius ir didinti motyvaciją užsiimti aktyvia fizine veikla.

Lietuvoje sportininkams trūksta motyvacijos sveikai maitintis, todėl jų mitybos įpročiai neatitinka sveikos mitybos rekomendacijų. Tyrimo tikslas-nustatyti ir įvertinti Lietuvos didelio meistriškumo sportininkų mitybos įpročius ir maisto papildų vartojimą lemiančius veiksnius. Pasitelkus tiesioginio interviu metodą buvo ištirti 18 ± 3,3 metų amžiaus vidutiniškai per dieną 178,2 ± 63,7 min. besitreniruojantys 247 Lietuvos didelio meistriškumo sportininkai. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad daugiausia sportininkus apie mitybą, maisto papildus informuoja sporto treneriai ir populiarioji literatūra. O gydytojų, per televizijos ir radijo laidas pateikiama informacija yra ribota ir nepakankama, kad skatintų tinkamus sportininkų mitybos ir maisto papildų vartojimo įpročius. 81,4 % sportininkų pagrindinis maisto produktų pasirinkimo kriterijus yra skonis. Neatsižvelgiant į tai, jaunieji sportininkai dažniau sutelkia dėmesį į sveikatai palankų mitybos poveikį, dažniau mitybą derina su konkrečia sportine veikla. Vyresnio amžiaus jėgą ir greitumą ugdantys sportininkai vyrai savo mitybos įpročių nederina su konkrečia sportine veikla, dažniausiai nesirenka sveikatai palankaus maisto. Šio segmento sportininkams jų treneriai informacijos apie maisto papildus suteikia per mažai, jiems nepakanka iš gydytojų gaunamos informacijos. Prioriteto tvarka dėmesys turi būti sutelktas į jėgą ir greitumą ugdančius sportininkus, juos profesionaliai ir pakankamu lygiu informuojant apie tinkamą mitybą ir racionalų maisto papildų vartojimą.