Nutritional status of Greek cirrhotic patients

Abstract

respective fat percentage, 21.9 % (±4.6), 18.9 % (±5.4) and 19.5 % (±2.4), correlated significantly with the biggest waist circumference (p<0.01), and classified wrestlers as normal rather than overweight. The basic biochemical parameters ranged within normal levels, nevertheless urine specific gravity assigned good hydration status to 3 out of 21 athletes. Nutritional assessment showed that protein intake was 1.3g/kg for basketball players, 1.8g/kg for cyclists and 1.8g/kg for wrestlers, while carbohydrate intake was 4.1, 4.6 and 4.3g/kg respectively in daily basis, but even nil during training. Conclusions: Wrestlers, even though displaying high BMI, have fat percentage within normal range, indicative of increased muscle mass as compared with athletes of the other two categories. The findings also show that most athletes do not receive the adequate amount of fluids and carbohydrates and these practices may prove unfavorable to their performance.