Three-day food records from a large group of marathon runners were analyzed and compared to various standards of dietary quality. Nutrient intake by the runners exceeded two-thirds the Recommended Dietary Allowance for all nutrients except for vitamin D and zinc in female runners. Energy and nutrient intake levels in the marathon runners were higher than those of the general US population except for fat and zinc in both males and females, and vitamin B12 in females. In general this group of runners consumed diets that would be considered more optimal than those of the general population. However, both caloric intake and percent energy as carbohydrate were lower than recommended for individuals engaging in endurance exercise. Professional help in planing high-carbohydrate diets for runners is indicated. Increasing amounts of training were not associated with significant increases in nutrient densities across three activity categories. Our data support the concept that the adoption of a regular running program may be more important than the quantity of training conducted when considering the quality of nutrient intake. It would appear prudent to emphasize public health measures that promote the adoption of regular physical activity by sedentary individuals in that a concomitant improvement in the quantity and quality of nutrient intake may result.
","abstract_html":"<p>Three-day food records from a large group of marathon runners were analyzed and compared to various standards of dietary quality. Nutrient intake by the runners exceeded two-thirds the Recommended Dietary Allowance for all nutrients except for vitamin D and zinc in female runners. Energy and nutrient intake levels in the marathon runners were higher than those of the general US population except for fat and zinc in both males and females, and vitamin B12 in females. In general this group of runners consumed diets that would be considered more optimal than those of the general population. However, both caloric intake and percent energy as carbohydrate were lower than recommended for individuals engaging in endurance exercise. Professional help in planing high-carbohydrate diets for runners is indicated. Increasing amounts of training were not associated with significant increases in nutrient densities across three activity categories. Our data support the concept that the adoption of a regular running program may be more important than the quantity of training conducted when considering the quality of nutrient intake. It would appear prudent to emphasize public health measures that promote the adoption of regular physical activity by sedentary individuals in that a concomitant improvement in the quantity and quality of nutrient intake may result.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Butler, Janice V."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Nutrition","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kathleen K. Zolber","David C. Nieman","Patricia K. Johnson","Jerry W. Lee","U.D. Register"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1988,"date_issued":"1988-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1988-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:59Z","subjects":["Exercise Science","Nutrition","Running; Nutritional Requirements; Diet"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/627","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kathleen K. Zolber","David C. Nieman","Patricia K. Johnson","Jerry W. Lee","U.D. 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The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/627"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Three-day food records from a large group of marathon runners were analyzed and compared to various standards of dietary quality. Nutrient intake by the runners exceeded two-thirds the Recommended Dietary Allowance for all nutrients except for vitamin D and zinc in female runners. Energy and nutrient intake levels in the marathon runners were higher than those of the general US population except for fat and zinc in both males and females, and vitamin B12 in females. In general this group of runners consumed diets that would be considered more optimal than those of the general population. However, both caloric intake and percent energy as carbohydrate were lower than recommended for individuals engaging in endurance exercise. Professional help in planing high-carbohydrate diets for runners is indicated. Increasing amounts of training were not associated with significant increases in nutrient densities across three activity categories. Our data support the concept that the adoption of a regular running program may be more important than the quantity of training conducted when considering the quality of nutrient intake. It would appear prudent to emphasize public health measures that promote the adoption of regular physical activity by sedentary individuals in that a concomitant improvement in the quantity and quality of nutrient intake may result.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Nutrient Intake of Marathon Runners"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kathleen K. Zolber","David C. Nieman","Patricia K. Johnson","Jerry W. Lee","U.D. Register"],"dc:creator":["Butler, Janice V."],"dc:description.abstract":["Three-day food records from a large group of marathon runners were analyzed and compared to various standards of dietary quality. Nutrient intake by the runners exceeded two-thirds the Recommended Dietary Allowance for all nutrients except for vitamin D and zinc in female runners. Energy and nutrient intake levels in the marathon runners were higher than those of the general US population except for fat and zinc in both males and females, and vitamin B12 in females. In general this group of runners consumed diets that would be considered more optimal than those of the general population. However, both caloric intake and percent energy as carbohydrate were lower than recommended for individuals engaging in endurance exercise. Professional help in planing high-carbohydrate diets for runners is indicated. Increasing amounts of training were not associated with significant increases in nutrient densities across three activity categories. Our data support the concept that the adoption of a regular running program may be more important than the quantity of training conducted when considering the quality of nutrient intake. It would appear prudent to emphasize public health measures that promote the adoption of regular physical activity by sedentary individuals in that a concomitant improvement in the quantity and quality of nutrient intake may result.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/627"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Exercise Science","Nutrition","Running; Nutritional Requirements; Diet"],"dc:title":["Nutrient Intake of Marathon Runners"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nutrition"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:59Z"}