Dataset Information

Nutritional Status and Cardiovascular Health in Female Adolescent Elite-Level Artistic Gymnasts and Swimmers: A Cross-Sectional Study of 31 Athletes.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Nutritional status is important for health and competitive achievement. This area remains understudied among elite-level female athletes and is appropriate for research. We examined nutritional status and cardiovascular health markers of two groups of female athletes of the same age and competition period, involved in weight-bearing and a non-weight-bearing sport: gymnasts (n?=?17) and swimmers (n?=?14); mean age 17.4 and 16.6 years.

Methods

Body composition and dietary intake were assessed by bioelectrical impedance and Food Frequency Questionnaire. The concentrations of serum micronutrients (B₁₂, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH) D), calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and iron), blood lipids, and blood pressure (BP) were measured. Setting and Participants. A cross-sectional study of 31 athletes from Slovenia.

Results

Gymnasts had higher body mass index (21.5 vs. 20.1?kg/m², p=0.043) and lower fat free mass (42.4 vs. 46.6?kg, p=0.024) than swimmers and comparable body fat percentage (22.5 vs. 22.8%). Both groups had low intake of carbohydrates, fibre, polyunsaturated fats, protein (only gymnasts), and micronutrients (11/13 micronutrients gymnasts and 4/13 swimmers) and high intake of free sugars and saturated fats. Both groups also had significantly lower-than-recommended serum levels of 25 (OH) D. All cardiovascular risk factors were within recommended ranges. Gymnasts had higher LDL cholesterol (2.7 vs. 2.2?mmol/L, p < 0.011), and swimmers had higher systolic BP (126 vs. 107?mmHg, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Dietary intake especially in gymnasts was suboptimal, which may reflect in anthropometric and cardiovascular marker differences between gymnasts and swimmers.

SUBMITTER: Jakse B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7815399 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Nutritional Status and Cardiovascular Health in Female Adolescent Elite-Level Artistic Gymnasts and Swimmers: A Cross-Sectional Study of 31 Athletes.

Jakše Boštjan B Jakše Barbara B Mis Nataša Fidler NF Jug Borut B Šajber Dorica D Godnov Uroš U Čuk Ivan I

Journal of nutrition and metabolism 20210112

<h4>Objective</h4>Nutritional status is important for health and competitive achievement. This area remains understudied among elite-level female athletes and is appropriate for research. We examined nutritional status and cardiovascular health markers of two groups of female athletes of the same age and competition period, involved in weight-bearing and a non-weight-bearing sport: gymnasts (<i>n</i> = 17) and swimmers (<i>n</i> = 14); mean age 17.4 and 16.6 years.<h4>Methods</h4>Body compositio ...[more]

PMID: 33505718

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Project description:Short stature and later maturation of youth artistic gymnasts are often attributed to the effects of intensive training from a young age. Given limitations of available data, inadequate specification of training, failure to consider other factors affecting growth and maturation, and failure to address epidemiological criteria for causality, it has not been possible thus far to establish cause-effect relationships between training and the growth and maturation of young artistic gymnasts. In response to this ongoing debate, the Scientific Commission of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) convened a committee to review the current literature and address four questions: (1) Is there a negative effect of training on attained adult stature? (2) Is there a negative effect of training on growth of body segments? (3) Does training attenuate pubertal growth and maturation, specifically, the rate of growth and/or the timing and tempo of maturation? (4) Does training negatively influence the endocrine system, specifically hormones related to growth and pubertal maturation? The basic information for the review was derived from the active involvement of committee members in research on normal variation and clinical aspects of growth and maturation, and on the growth and maturation of artistic gymnasts and other youth athletes. The committee was thus thoroughly familiar with the literature on growth and maturation in general and of gymnasts and young athletes. Relevant data were more available for females than males. Youth who persisted in the sport were a highly select sample, who tended to be shorter for chronological age but who had appropriate weight-for-height. Data for secondary sex characteristics, skeletal age and age at peak height velocity indicated later maturation, but the maturity status of gymnasts overlapped the normal range of variability observed in the general population. Gymnasts as a group demonstrated a pattern of growth and maturation similar to that observed among short-, normal-, late-maturing individuals who were not athletes. Evidence for endocrine changes in gymnasts was inadequate for inferences relative to potential training effects. Allowing for noted limitations, the following conclusions were deemed acceptable: (1) Adult height or near adult height of female and male artistic gymnasts is not compromised by intensive gymnastics training. (2) Gymnastics training does not appear to attenuate growth of upper (sitting height) or lower (legs) body segment lengths. (3) Gymnastics training does not appear to attenuate pubertal growth and maturation, neither rate of growth nor the timing and tempo of the growth spurt. (4) Available data are inadequate to address the issue of intensive gymnastics training and alterations within the endocrine system.

Dataset Information

Nutritional Status and Cardiovascular Health in Female Adolescent Elite-Level Artistic Gymnasts and Swimmers: A Cross-Sectional Study of 31 Athletes.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Nutritional Status and Cardiovascular Health in Female Adolescent Elite-Level Artistic Gymnasts and Swimmers: A Cross-Sectional Study of 31 Athletes.

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