ECSS Paris 2023: OP-PN07
INTRODUCTION: Recreational athletes rely on a variety of resources to inform nutritional, hydration, and training decisions. The rise of social media has enabled more equitable access to nutrition plans and training practices, but has also increased the spread of misinformation. Fitness content creators often base their content on personal life experiences rather than empirical evidence. Additionally, paid opportunities may bias what information is shared with followers. The purpose of this descriptive analysis is to classify resources used for nutrition and training among recreational female athletes training for a half-marathon. METHODS: One hundred and seven (n = 107) female runners (32.17 ± 8.59 years) competing in a community-based half-marathon completed questionnaires on nutrition, hydration, and training resources used during the four weeks leading up to race day. Resources were classified as professional (sports dietician/nutritionist, coach, eating disorder specialist, sports scientist, sports physician/medical doctor, naturopath/herbalist, chiropractor, education information provided by event, scientific publications, educational conferences) or non-professional (friends, audio programs, online media, television, and social media). Participants could select multiple sources. Data are presented as means ± SD or counts/total (%). RESULTS: Many participants reported “[they] did not use resources” for nutrition (48/161; 29.8%), hydration (62/150; 41.3%), and training (34/107; 18.8%). Among individuals who reported using resources, the mean was 2.00 ± 1.13 for nutrition resources, 1.87 ± 0.97 for hydration resources, and 2.01 ± 1.28 for training resources. Use of non-professional sources was more frequently cited in those who used at least one resource across domains (diet: 63/161 (55.7%); hydration: 61/88 (69.3%); training: 107/147 (72.8%)). Among only non-professional resources, social media was selected in 49.2% (31/63) of nutrition, 42.6% (26/61) of hydration, and 28.9% (31/107) of training responses. Regarding training information, 36.4% (39/107) relied on friends. CONCLUSION: Recreational female athletes frequently rely on non-professional sources, particularly social media, for information on training and nutrition. This study highlights the importance of providing accessible, evidence-based resources for athletes to safeguard athlete health.
Read CV Bailey McLaganECSS Paris 2023: OP-PN07
INTRODUCTION: Following concerns about excessive caffeine intake among minors, Poland introduced a nationwide ban on energy drink sales to individuals <18 years of age. However, the real-world impact of this policy on caffeine consumption, particularly among physically active adolescents, remains unclear, including its potential influence on the use of caffeine-containing dietary supplements. Physically active children and adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to high energy drink consumption, partly due to evidence suggesting performance-enhancing effects of caffeine in aerobic exercise. However, international guidelines advise against energy drink consumption in young athletes, recommending complete avoidance in children and restricted use under parental supervision in adolescents. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate changes in self-reported caffeine intake from energy drinks among physically active adolescents before and after the implementation of the sales ban, and to complement these findings with anonymous anti-doping control records documenting recent use of caffeine-containing supplements in athlete minors. METHODS: Two studies using a similar methodology were conducted: first in 2022, before the ban, (n=1530, aged 10-14 years, participants of in extracurricular, organised sports activities) and the second in 2025, after the introduction of the ban (n=1083, aged 11-15, adolescents from Handball Training Centres). Estimated daily caffeine intake from EDs (mg/day) was derived by multiplying the converted mean daily consumption frequency (e.g., “less than once a month” = 0.02, “once daily or more” = 1.5) by the reported portion size, assuming an average caffeine content of 32 mg per 100 ml of the beverage. In parallel, the frequency of caffeine-containing supplement use was compared among individuals 14-17 years of age based on questionnaires completed during doping controls in 2022-2023 and 2024-2025. RESULTS: The percentage of energy drink consumers significantly decreased from 46.4% to 19.1% (p < 0.001). The average daily caffeine intake from energy drinks decreased from 20.8±81.2 mg/day in 2022 up to 17.2±43.3 mg/day (p = 0.023) among consumers. With regard to data from doping surveys, no statistically significant changes were observed before and after the introduction of the ban (15.5% vs 15.7%, p=0.940). To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effectiveness of the ban in reducing caffeine consumption. CONCLUSION: While the sales ban successfully reduced both the prevalence of consumption and average daily caffeine intake among physically active adolescents, the absence of a corresponding decrease in caffeine-containing dietary supplement use among young athletes suggests that regulatory measures alone are insufficient. However, this difference may also be attributable to age disparities between samples, with the adolescent group being younger than the athlete cohort.
Read CV Dominika GrandaECSS Paris 2023: OP-PN07
INTRODUCTION: Dietary assessment of free-living athletes from self-reported food diaries is challenged by misreporting of intake and changes to eating habits during the observation period, typically leading to underestimation of true/habitual intake. We developed a novel protocol that minimised participant burden and awareness of assessment to measure dietary intake in elite male and female rowers during a period of altitude training METHODS: Tier 4-5 rowers (28 F, 18M) rowers participated in this study while attending a 3-week altitude (1,839 m) training camp in Colorado Springs, USA. Daily intake was assessed for 18 days while rowers had ad libitum access to meals provided in a dining hall plus additional snacks. A team of sports dietitians and food service personnel developed a protocol in which pre-weighed or packaged foods/drinks were chosen from a buffet-style service, with each rower’s food tray being photographed before and after intake, with unconsumed items being weighed after the dining period. The Teamworks food analysis platform captured intake on each eating occasion; energy and macronutrient intakes were assessed from its food composition database, which included recipes and menu items served within the dining hall, as well as commercial items sourced externally. Three dietitians completed all data entry according to a standardised protocol. At the end of each week, rowers completed an online survey to identify factors that had influenced their dietary intake over the week. RESULTS: Mean energy intake was 4569 kcal/day [95%CI: 4417, 4721 kcal/day] for female rowers and 6143 kcal/day [95%CI: 5888, 6399 kcal/day] for the men. CHO intakes were 8.0 g/kg BM [95%CI: 7.5, 8.4 g/kg BM] and 8.4 g/kg BM [95%CI: 7.9, 8.9 g/kg BM] for women and men, respectively, while protein intake was 2.2 g/kg BM [95%CI: 2.1, 2.4 g/kg BM] and 2.7 g/kg BM [95%CI: 2.6, 2.9 g/kg BM]. Self-reported factors underpinning food intake ranged among participants and across the weekly periods. However, themes which were rated to have least influence included awareness of being observed, feeling self-conscious in the presence of others, body composition concern, lack of food availability, or poor enjoyment of the provided foods. Appetite, hunger, gastrointestinal comfort, and time to eat were more variable as influencers on eating patterns, while awareness of nutritional needs, including special needs for training and altitude adaptation, was identified as more important. CONCLUSION: We assessed ad libitum dietary intake in rowers in a residential training centre during a period of altitude training using a novel method that minimised known challenges to the validity and reliability of self-reported food records. In addition to gaining information on energy and nutrient intakes of high-performance rowers, this study provided an opportunity to assess the manpower, expertise, challenges, and benefits of developing bespoke observer-reported food record protocols.
Read CV Louise BurkeECSS Paris 2023: OP-PN07