Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists
Nutritional practices and body composition of para-athletes can impact their health and athletic performance. There is a paucity of research on the nutritional practices, including dietary and supplement intake, body composition and bone health of spinal cord-injured (SCI) endurance hand cyclists. T...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/23/4949 |
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| author | Reno Eron Gordon Sunita Potgieter Lize Havemann-Nel |
| author_facet | Reno Eron Gordon Sunita Potgieter Lize Havemann-Nel |
| author_sort | Reno Eron Gordon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nutritional practices and body composition of para-athletes can impact their health and athletic performance. There is a paucity of research on the nutritional practices, including dietary and supplement intake, body composition and bone health of spinal cord-injured (SCI) endurance hand cyclists. This study assessed the body composition and dietary and supplement intake of 12 national-level SCI endurance hand cyclists (age: 44.0 ± 9.3 years). Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed in a sub-sample of participants (<i>n</i> = 4) using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Estimated body fat percentage was healthy (18.4 ± 5.1%) and lumbar spine BMD for the sub-sample was adequate, however hip BMD was low (<i>Z</i>-score and/or <i>T</i>-scores < −2). Carbohydrate intake for male and female participants was below the recommended intake (3.8 (2.9–4.1) and 2.4 (2.0–2.7) g/kg BW, respectively). Overall protein intake was adequate, whilst fat intake was high for both males and females (39.7 (37.7–41.6) and 42.1 (39.0–45.3)% of total energy, respectively). The reported intakes for a few key micronutrients were also below the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and/or adequate intake (AI) for males (vitamin D, calcium). The prevalence of supplement use before, during, and after training was 40%, 100%, and 60%, respectively. In conclusion, the hand cyclists could benefit from nutritional guidance to match their daily carbohydrate intake with exercise requirements and optimise their fat intake. Optimal vitamin D and calcium intake is also important especially in the light of poor bone health below the lesion level. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:37:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-455c0d81c6454a7c948dbbff25e8900c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:37:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-455c0d81c6454a7c948dbbff25e8900c2023-11-24T11:49:37ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432022-11-011423494910.3390/nu14234949Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand CyclistsReno Eron Gordon0Sunita Potgieter1Lize Havemann-Nel2Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria 0208, South AfricaDivision of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 8000, South AfricaCentre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South AfricaNutritional practices and body composition of para-athletes can impact their health and athletic performance. There is a paucity of research on the nutritional practices, including dietary and supplement intake, body composition and bone health of spinal cord-injured (SCI) endurance hand cyclists. This study assessed the body composition and dietary and supplement intake of 12 national-level SCI endurance hand cyclists (age: 44.0 ± 9.3 years). Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed in a sub-sample of participants (<i>n</i> = 4) using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Estimated body fat percentage was healthy (18.4 ± 5.1%) and lumbar spine BMD for the sub-sample was adequate, however hip BMD was low (<i>Z</i>-score and/or <i>T</i>-scores < −2). Carbohydrate intake for male and female participants was below the recommended intake (3.8 (2.9–4.1) and 2.4 (2.0–2.7) g/kg BW, respectively). Overall protein intake was adequate, whilst fat intake was high for both males and females (39.7 (37.7–41.6) and 42.1 (39.0–45.3)% of total energy, respectively). The reported intakes for a few key micronutrients were also below the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and/or adequate intake (AI) for males (vitamin D, calcium). The prevalence of supplement use before, during, and after training was 40%, 100%, and 60%, respectively. In conclusion, the hand cyclists could benefit from nutritional guidance to match their daily carbohydrate intake with exercise requirements and optimise their fat intake. Optimal vitamin D and calcium intake is also important especially in the light of poor bone health below the lesion level.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/23/4949bone mineral densityspinal cord-injured athletescarbohydrate intakefat intakemicronutrient intakebody composition |
| spellingShingle | Reno Eron Gordon Sunita Potgieter Lize Havemann-Nel Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists Nutrients bone mineral density spinal cord-injured athletes carbohydrate intake fat intake micronutrient intake body composition |
| title | Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists |
| title_full | Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists |
| title_fullStr | Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists |
| title_short | Nutritional Practices and Body Composition of South African National-Level Spinal Cord-Injured Endurance Hand Cyclists |
| title_sort | nutritional practices and body composition of south african national level spinal cord injured endurance hand cyclists |
| topic | bone mineral density spinal cord-injured athletes carbohydrate intake fat intake micronutrient intake body composition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/23/4949 |
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