Title:
FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL INTAKE OF SPORTS PEOPLE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Author:
Ângela Catarina Fernandes Alves (a29374@alunos.ipb.pt)*, António José Gonçalves Fernandes (toze@ipb.pt)**, Vera Alexandra Ferro-Lebres (vferrolebres@ipb.pt)***
Publication:
Revista Egitania Sciencia - Volume 24
Abstract:
One of the nutritional problems of aesthetic sports, such as rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, is the negative balance of energy intake, both macronutrients and micronutrients. These deficiencies are often the consequence of restrictive diets based on the imposition of a lean body shape. This literature review intends to understand if the sports people fulfil the nutritional recommendations and identify the differences of food and nutritional intake in different sports, namely, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics and bodybuilding. A bibliographic research was carried out within PubMed and Web of Science databases using combinations of keywords like "diet", "nutrition", "gym" and "physical exercise". We focused on studies published in peer-reviewed journals, written in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The macronutrient that was most adequate to the recommendations was the protein, and the energy intake was the one that presented deficit in most of the studies. Vitamin B12 has been shown as recommended in most of the studies, while iron and calcium minerals are considered inadequate according to the recommendations. A higher intake of protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and vegetables was observed in food intake and a high consumption of sausages and pastry products was also observed. It is concluded that, in the majority of the studies, the energetic, calcium and iron intake does not meet the recommendations. Protein intake was the one that generated the greatest consensus in sports field studies, being adequate or above recommendations. Overall, in sports, dietary intake was adequate for protein-rich foods, but inadequate consumption of sausages and pastry products has been observed.
Keywords:
nutritional intake, food intake, sports
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