Dietary Surveys

Burke L. M., G. Slater, E. M. Broad, J. Haukka, S. Modulon, and W. G. Hopkins. Eating patterns and meal frequency of elite Australian athletes. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 13: 521-38, 2003.

Martin M. K., D. T. Martin, G. R. Collier, and L. M. Burke. Voluntary food intake by elite female cyclists during training and racing: influence of daily energy expenditure and body composition. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 12: 249-67, 2003.

Braakhuis, A. J., K. Meredith, G. R. Cox, W. G. Hopkins, and L. M. Burke. Variability in estimation of self-reported dietary intake data from elite athletes resulting from coding by different sports dietitians. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 13: 152-165, 2003.

Felder, J. M., L. M. Burke, B. J. Lowdon, D. Cameron-Smith, and G. R. Collier. Nutritional practices of elite female surfers during training and competition. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 8: 36-48, 1998.

Burke, L. M., R. A. Gollan, and R. S. Read. Dietary intakes and food use of groups of elite Australian male athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 1: 378-394, 1991.

We undertook a dietary survey of 167 Australian Olympic team athletes (80 females and 87 males) competing in endurance sports (n = 41), team sports (n = 31), sprint- or skill-based sports (n = 67), and sports in which athletes are weight-conscious (n = 28). Analysis of their 7-day food diaries provided mean energy intakes, nutrient intakes, and eating patterns. Higher energy intakes relative to body mass were reported by male athletes compared with females, and by endurance athletes compared with other athletes. Endurance athletes reported substantially higher intakes of carbohydrate (CHO) than other athletes, and were among the athletes most likely to consume CHO during and after training sessions. Athletes undertaking weight-conscious sports reported relatively low energy intakes and were least likely to consume CHO during a training session or in the first hour of recovery. On average, athletes reported eating on approximately 5 separate occasions each day, with a moderate relationship between the number of daily eating occasions and total energy intake. Snacks, defined as food or drink consumed between main meals, provided 23% of daily energy intake and were chosen from sources higher in CHO and lower in fat and protein than foods chosen at meals. The dietary behaviors of these elite athletes were generally consistent with guidelines for sports nutrition, but intakes during and after training sessions were often sub-optimal. Although it is of interest to study the periodicity of fluid and food intake by athletes, it is difficult to compare across studies due to a lack of standardized terminology.

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Martin, M. K., D. T. Martin, G. R. Collier, and L. M. Burke. Voluntary food intake by elite female cyclists during training and racing: influence of daily energy expenditure and body composition. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 12: 249-67, 2003.

We estimated self-reported energy intake (EI) and cycling energy expenditure (CEE) during racing and training over 26 days (9 days recovery [REC], 9 days training [TRN], and 8 days racing [RACE], which included a 5-day stage race) for 8 members of the Australian National Training Squad [mean SD; 25.1 4.0 years, 59.2 4.4 kg, 3.74 0.24 L min-1 VO 2 peak, 13.6 4.5 % Body fat (% B fat)]. After 70 days of training and racing, average body mass increased by 1.1 kg (95%CI 0.5 to 1.7 kg; p <.01) and average % B fat decreased by 0.9% (95%CI 1.7 to 0.1%; p <.05). These minor changes, however, were not considered clinically significant. CEE was different between RACE, TRN, and REC (2.15 0.18 vs. 1.73 0.25 vs. 0.72 0.15 MJ d-1, p <.05). Reported EI for RACE and TRN were higher than REC (14.87 3.03, 13.70 4.04 vs. 11.98 3.57 MJ d-1, p <.05). Reported intake of carbohydrate for RACE and TRN were also higher than REC (588 122, 536 130 vs. 448 138 g d-1, p <.05). Reported intake of fat (59 21 68 21 g d-1) was similar during RACE, TRN, and REC, whereas protein intake tended to be higher during TRN (158 49 g d-1) compared to RACE and REC (136 33; 130 33 g d-1). There was a relationship between average CEE and average EI over the 26 days (r = 0.77, p <.05), but correlations between CEE and EI for each of the women varied (r = 0.02 to 0.67). There was a strong trend for an inverse relationship between average EI and % Bf at (r = -.68, p =.06, n = 8). In this study, increases in reported EI during heavy training and racing were the result of an increase in carbohydrate intake. Most but not all cyclists modulated EI based on CEE. Research is required to determine whether physiological or psychological factors are primarily responsible for the observed relationship between CEE and EI and also the inverse correlation between % B fat and EI.

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Braakhuis A. J., K. Meredith, G. R Cox, W. G. Hopkins, and L. M. Burke. Variability in estimation of self-reported dietary intake data from elite athletes resulting from coding by different sports dietitians. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 13:152-165, 2003.

A routine activity for a sports dietitian is to estimate energy and nutrient intake from an athlete's self-reported food intake. Decisions made by the dietitian when coding a food record are a source of variability in the data. The aim of the present study was to determine the variability in estimation of the daily energy and key nutrient intakes of elite athletes, when experienced coders analysed the same food record using the same database and software package. Seven-day food records from a dietary survey of athletes in the 1996 Australian Olympic team were randomly selected to provide 13 sets of records, each set representing the self-reported food intake of an endurance, team, weight restricted, and sprint/power athlete. Each set was coded by 3-5 members of Sports Dietitians Australia, making a total of 52 athletes, 53 dietitians, and 1456 athlete-days of data. We estimated within- and between-athlete and dietitian variances for each dietary nutrient using mixed modeling, and we combined the variances to express variability as a coefficient of variation (typical variation as a percent of the mean). Variability in the mean of 7-day estimates of a nutrient was 2- to 3-fold less than that of a single day. The variability contributed by the coder was less than the true athlete variability for a 1-day record but was of similar magnitude for a 7-day record. The most variable nutrients (e.g. vitamin C, vitamin A, cholesterol) had ~3-fold more variability than least variable nutrients (e.g. energy, carbohydrate, magnesium). These athlete and coder variabilities need to be taken into account in dietary assessment of athletes for counselling and research.

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The aim of this study was to assess the dietary practices of 10 elite female surfers. Four- and five-day food diaries completed over competition and training periods demonstrated energy intakes (mean +/- SD) of 9,468 kJ (+/- 2,007) and 8,397 kJ (+/- 1,831), respectively. This level of energy intake was less than that estimated for the requirements of surfing. Female surfers' carbohydrate intakes failed to meet the recommendations, and suboptimal zinc intake was observed with 90% of subjects not meeting the Australian RDI. Comparisons between competition and training demonstrated that carbohydrate (g and g/kg body weight) and confectionary (g) intakes were significantly higher (p < .05) and protein intake was significantly lower (p < .05) during competition. These results show that although body fat stores were not compromised (mean 22%), self-reported energy, carbohydrate, and nutrient intakes were marginal in elite female surfers. Questionnaires revealed that 90% of surfers did not have good nutritional habits while traveling, which was compounded by a lack of knowledge of nutritional practices.

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Burke, L. M., R. A. Gollan, and R. S. Read. Dietary intakes and food use of groups of elite Australian male athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 1: 378-394, 1991.

The present study conducted dietary surveys of four groups of Australian male athletes: triathletes, marathon runners, Australian Rules football players, and Olympic weightlifters. Their training diets were assessed via a 7-day food record from which mean daily intakes of energy, macronutrients, and key micronutrients were estimated. The data were compared between groups as well as to recommendations in the literature for athlete nutrition. Results showed major differences between groups. The contribution of carbohydrate to total energy intake was greater for triathletes and marathon runners than for the other two groups. There was no difference between all four groups in the total amount of fat consumed, yet its contribution to total energy intake was significantly lower for triathletes and marathon runners. The football players and weightlifters consumed a similar fat:energy ratio as the typical Australian diet. Furthermore, the micronutrient density of the football players' diets was significantly lower than that of the other groups.

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