Nutrient Intake of Marathon Runners

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nutrition

Year

1988

Author dc:creator

• Butler, Janice V.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kathleen K. Zolber
• David C. Nieman
• Patricia K. Johnson
• Jerry W. Lee
• U.D. Register

• Exercise Science
• Nutrition
• Running; Nutritional Requirements; Diet

Statement 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.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/627

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-1692