Dietary Habits and Fluid Intake of a Group of Elite Spanish Basketball Players: A Need for Professional Advice?

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyse dietary habits and fluid intake of professional basketball players with consideration of dietary guidelines and sport nutrition recommendations. A dietary habit questionnaire including a 24 h recall was recorded by 55 elite basketball players of the first Spanish Basketball League. Energy consumption among these athletes was high 17.7 ± 0.9 MJ • day -1 in comparison to other elite team sport athletes. Furthermore intakes of protein, fat, saturated fatty acids mineral and most vitamins exceed the current Daily Recommended Intakes (DRI's) for these macronutrients whereas, intakes of carbohydrate and vitamin E failed to meet the guidelines. Daily fluid intake was 3126 ± 1226ml. Water was the preferred beverage (1688±1032 ml), followed by milk (445 ± 521 ml), commercial sport drinks (377 ± 520 ml), carbonated beverages (307 ± 492 ml), juices (150 ± 208 ml), beer (67 ± 189 ml), non-alcoholic (beer 49 ± 158 ml) and wine (43 ± 218 ml). Sixty-six percent of the participants reported to consume particular foods before competition and 10% stated to do this after competition. On average athletes consumed 646 ± 352 ml • h -1 and 882 ± 486 ml of liquids during training and competition session, respectively. Furthermore, 44 % of the participants recorded not to drink before getting thirsty and 3 athletes stated never to drink during training and 2 did so during competition. Results of the present study underline the need for professional advice from sport nutritionists for elite basketball players.

Adequacy of Nutrient Intakes in Elite Junior Basketball Players

“…The difference between groups was not significant when the estimated energy intake was expressed relative to body weight (51 vs. 45 kcal/kg/d, p = .052). Similar relative energy intakes were observed in US football players (15 to 18 years) and elite Spanish basketball players (mean age 25.1 years; 48 and 47 kcal/kg/d, respectively; Petrie et al, 2004, Schroder et al, 2004.…”

Hydration Habits of Elite Field Futsal Players during Official Matches: Defenders and Forwards

“…Along these lines, another study with elite futsal players [37] obtained an average of 800 mL intake after a training session, less than the total fluid intake by our players. In other team sports, Schröder et al [38] assessed fluid intake during training and competition in 55 elite basketball players, which mean result was 882 ± 486 mL, less than that obtained in our study.…”

Fitness professionals’ knowledge and perceptions on hydration and fluid intake: a preliminary study

“…2017, 9(6S), 1024-1040 1034 on sports drink consumption during high intensity exercise for more than 1 h and less intense exercise sustained for longer period, water was regarded as the best drink by these individuals and was the most preferred beverage to be consumed by the participants during exercise. This result is supported by the work of Schroder et al [15] who conducted a survey on dietary habits and fluid intake of the elite Spanish basketball players and observed that water was the preferred beverage consumed by the participants during training (92%) and competition (88%). If people regularly exercise for more than 1 h at high intensity or less intense but sustained for a longer period, sports drinks may be a better option for fluid and fuel replacement during exercise because sodium and carbohydrate contents help to increase physiological drive to drink to replace sweat losses and to maintain blood glucose level, respectively [13].…”