Association Between Body Composition And Adequate Intake Of Macronutrients In Female College Athletes

Clinical, dietetic and Body Composition (BC) assessment is often included in the athlete’s program, in female athletes, it provides indicators of health status and key determinants of sport performance. Adequate intake of macronutrients contributes to optimizing recovery, growth, maturation, and BC, avoiding injuries, and maintaining a healthy and sporty lifestyle for a long time. PURPOSE: To analyze the association between BC and adequate intake of macronutrients in female college athletes. METHODS: The sample comprised 10 female college soccer athletes. We evaluated basic anthropometric measurements according to ISAK procedures. Similarly, the BC was analyzed with a whole-body DXA scan to get the FFMI and Fat Mass percentage. Evaluation of energy and nutrients intake was performed with 3-4 days food diary. Total energy intake and g of each macronutrient was estimated. Carbohydrate (CHO), Protein (PRO) intake were calculated and adjusted for body weight (g/kg/day), and Fat (FAT) in percentage. Intake was classified as “adequate” if the athlete consumed the recommended amount of each macronutrient for the training day (CHO: 6-8 g/kg/d; PRO: 1.2-2.2 g/kg/d, and 20-30% of total energy intake of FAT). Logistic regression was performed to analyze the association between BC and adequate intake of macronutrients. RESULTS: The descriptive were the following: age: 21 ± 1.6 y, weight: 61.0 ± 8.9 kg, height 163.9 ± 7.8 cm, FMI 5.9 ± 1.3 kg/m2, and FFMI: 16.6 ± 1.3 kg/m2. No significant associations were observed between FFMI or FM% and intake of macronutrients (PRO: β = -1.609, r2 = 0.161, p = 0.278, CHO and FAT: β = -1.386, r2 = 0.238, p = .999), (PRO: β = .405, r2 = 0.000, p = 1.00, CHO and FAT: β = -1.386, r2 = .000, p = 1.0), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the BC is not associated with adequate intake of macronutrients.