No abstract

Our study aimed to describe the association between food patterns and gender, parental education, physical activity, sleeping and obesity in 1976 children aged 5−10 years old. Dietary intake was measured by a semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire; body mass index was calculated and categorized according to the IOTF classification. Factor analysis and generalized linear models were applied to identify food patterns and their associations. TV viewing and male gender were significant positive predictors for fast-food, sugar sweetened beverages and pastry pattern, while a higher level of maternal education and longer sleeping duration were positively associated with a dietary patterns that included fruit and vegetables.

AOX supplementation does not offer protection against exercise-induced lipid peroxidation and inflammation and may hinder the recovery of muscle damage.

Exhaustive or unaccustomed intense exercise can cause exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and its undesirable consequences may decrease the ability to exercise and to adhere to a training programme. This review briefly summarises the muscle damage process, focusing predominantly on oxidative stress and inflammation as contributing factors, and describes how nutrition may be positively used to recover from EIMD. The combined intake of carbohydrates and proteins and the use of antioxidants and/or anti-inflammatory nutrients within physiological ranges are interventions that may assist the recovery process. Although the works studying food instead of nutritional supplements are very scarce, their results seem to indicate that food might be a favourable option as a recovery strategy. To date, the only tested foods were milk, cherries, blueberries and pomegranate with promising results. Other potential solutions are foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, antioxidants and/or anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Background: Although there seems to be an increasing interest in the use of dietary supplements in those who exercise recreationally and want to improve body composition, there is little published data regarding gym users and dietary supplement use. Methods: This cross-sectional study describes the prevalence and type of supplements used by gyms members, the reasons for using them and the information source using a self-administered online questionnaire. Results: Of the 459 participants (301 females) who answered the survey, 43.8% reported using dietary supplements. Users were more likely men (62.7% vs. 33.9%, p < 0.05), younger (32 ± 9 vs. 34 ± 11 years, p < 0.05) and trained more hours per week (6 ± 3 vs 4 ± 3 h, p < 0.05) than non-users. The most consumed supplements were proteins (80.1%), multivitamins and/or minerals (38.3%), sport bars (37.3%), branched-chain amino acids (BCAA's) (36.8%) and n-3 fatty acids (35.5%). Men consumed more arginine, BCAA's, creatine, glutamine, β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB), proteins, β-alanine, taurine, multivitamin/minerals, and carbohydrate supplements (p < 0.05). The most commonly cited reasons for the use of supplements were gaining muscle (55.7%), accelerating recovery (52.7%) and improving performance (47.3%). Men have more often referred increase strength, increase resistance, gain muscle mass, accelerate recovery and improve performance as reasons to use supplements than women (p < 0.05). Those who mentioned muscle gain as a reason were younger than those who did not (30.4 years vs. 33.7 years, p < 0.05). The sources of information most mentioned were registered dietitians (23.1%), internet (22.2%) and him/herself (16.6%). The majority (> 70%) of participants declared being well or very well informed about supplements, while only a minority (4%) felt very poorly or poorly informed. Most individuals purchased dietary supplements from the internet (56.2%) and supplement/health food stores (43.4%). Conclusion: This study concluded that gyms users are large consumers of dietary supplements, and are more likely to be men, young, use protein powders, aiming to increase muscle mass, obtain information from registered dietitians, consider themselves well informed and buy supplements online.

In this study, we determined the prevalence of nutritional supplements (NS) usage, the type of supplements used, the reasons for usage, and the source of nutritional advice among Portuguese athletes. Two hundred ninety-two athletes (68 % male, 12 - 37 years old) from 13 national sports federations completed a questionnaire that sought information on socio-demographics, sports data, and NS usage. Most athletes (66 %) consumed NS, with a median consumption of 4 supplements per athlete. The most popular supplements included multivitamins/minerals (67 %), sport drinks (62 %), and magnesium (53 %). Significant differences for the type of NS consumed were found between gender and age groups and the number of weekly training hours. Most athletes used NS to accelerate recovery (63 %), improve sports performance (62 %), and have more energy/reduce fatigue (60 %). Athletes sought advice on supplementation mainly from physicians (56 %) and coaches (46 %). Age and gender were found to influence reasons for use and the source of information. Reasons for NS usage were supported scientifically in some cases (e. g., muscle gain upon protein supplementation), but others did not have a scientific basis (e. g., use of glutamine and magnesium). Given the high percentage of NS users, there is an urgent need to provide athletes with education and access to scientific and unbiased information, so that athletes can make assertive and rational choices about the utilization of these products.

No abstract

Twelve adolescent athletes underwent, in a crossover-design study, 3 separate 90-min training sessions in the following conditions: no fluid ingestion allowed (NF), ad libitum ingestion of water (W), and ad libitum ingestion of a commercial 8% carbohydrate-electrolyte sports beverage (CSB). After each session athletes performed a set of basketball drills (2-point, 3-point, and free-throw shootout, suicide sprints, and defensive zigzags). Body weight (before and after sessions), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), urine color, and beverage acceptability were determined in each session. Athletes also completed a survey about their knowledge and behaviors regarding hydration and fluid replacement. The percentage of weight loss was significantly higher in NF (2.46% ± 0.87%) than in the other 2 conditions (W, 1.08% ± 0.67%, p = .006; CSB, 0.65% ± 0.62%, p = .001) but also higher in W than CSB (p = .012). RPE was higher in NF (16.8 ± 1.96) than in the W (14.2 ± 1.99, p = .004) and CSB (13.3 ± 2.06, p = .002) trials. Athletes' fluid intake was positively correlated with proper self-reported behaviors (r = .75, p = .005) and knowledge (r = .76, p = .004) about fluid and hydration. In conclusion, fluid restriction during exercise was associated with a greater level of dehydration and increased perceived exertion but had no impact on basketball performance compared with ad libitum drinking of water or a CSB. Athletes with more knowledge about hydration and better self-reported hydration behaviors ingested more fluids during training sessions.