Eating Habits in Young Athletes

Diet and Lifestyle Analysis in Florence

Cristian Petri, Gabriele Mascherini, Lorenzo Francini, Lisa Sequi and Giorgio Galanti

Sports Medicine Department, University of Florence, largo Brambilla 3, Florence, Italy

1 OBJECTIVES

Considering that the eating habits of each individual

consolidate in school age, it is clear how important a

proper eating behaviour can ensure both a healthy

and proper growth and development in the

developmental age, and if it can continue to persist

its beneficial effects, even in adult life.

Diet should meet the demands of all the nutrients

and energy to allow the increase in body mass,

maintaining all physiological processes and adequate

physical activity.

By contrast, poor eating habits, not only can

determine the onset of chronic degenerative diseases

in the long run, but they can also determine, in the

short term, the lack of essential nutrients and

compromise the development of the organism of the

child.

Childhood obesity is considered an important

predictor of obesity in adulthood (De Onis M.,

2010). A high BMI during adolescence predicts high

mortality from cardiovascular disease in adulthood

even when the excess weight is lost. According to

the estimates of the Childhood Obesity Surveillance

Initiative (COSI, 2010) of the WHO, about one in

three children aged between 6 and 9 years were

overweight in 2010 (EU, 2014) against estimated

1:46 in 2008.

Although less sensitive than skinfold thicknesses,

the body mass index (weight/height

) is widely used

in adult populations, and a cut off point of 30 kg/m

is recognised internationally as a definition of adult

obesity (WHO, 1995).

Body mass index in childhood changes

substantially with age (Rolland-Cachera M.F.,

1982).

For a proper growth is therefore necessary to

correct poor eating habits and an adequate physical

activity: it has been demonstrated that the sport is

able to decrease the overweight and obesity (Shelley

E., 2010).

This study is aimed to investigate how young

people that practicing sports overweight or obesity

occurs.

For references of overweight and obesity we decided

to adopt the guidelines of Cole (Cole J., 2010).

2 METHODS

330 young athletes, 232 males and 97 females (age:

14.56 ± 3.57, height 1.63 ± 0.14 m, ) were subjected

to the completion of a questionnaire to assess

lifestyle and eating habits (INRAN, Istituto

Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e Nutrizione).

The first part of the questionnaire included a general

information (weight, height, age, sex, and most

widely used means to go to school), a second part

related to physical activity and sport practiced

(practice of physical activity in addition to sports

practiced months/years of activity and hours per

week devoted to the performance of it). The

different sports were subsequently divided according

to component static - dynamic (Asmussen E, 1981)

(Jere H., 2005). The second part of the questionnaire

included eating habits. After the information about

where the meals were consumed regularly

throughout the day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack

and dinner), there was a section on food allergies

and possible adoption, and frequency of dietary

supplements.

Finally there was the part related to the frequencies

of weekly consumption of food groups.

3 RESULTS

From the analysis of questionnaires was possible to

detect that:

- The percentage of overweight children is 12.7%

and that of obese children is equal to 1.8%; 0.6% is

underweight.

Petri C., Mascherini G., Francini L., Sequi L. and Galanti G..

Eating Habits in Young Athletes - Diet and Lifestyle Analysis in Florence.

 2014 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

In addition, there are more females overweight and

obese than males respectively 12.4% and 4.1%

versus 8, 8% and 0.6% of males.

- The 2.4% of boys reported smoking cigarettes.

- Most of the boys reported that goes to school on

foot, 27%, 25.8% go by car, 22.4% used public

transport, 14.5% took the moped, while only 3.9 %

use the bike to go to school. The choice of the means

to get to school is no significant differences by

gender.

- 19.4% reported not perform other physical

activities as well sporting activities; average is lower

than that in females, 13.4% compared to 15.5%

males.

- the most popular sport is soccer, 37%, water polo

with 8.2% follows with 7.3% basketball, volleyball

7.0%, 5.5% gymnastics, 4.2% practice athletics,

dance and karate, tennis 3.9%. Among males, the

most popular sport appears to be soccer, 36.7%,

followed by basketball with 7.3%, 4.5% as

swimming, tennis and athletics with 3.0%. Among

females appears to be the most popular sport

volleyball with 17.5%, followed by 15.5% with

gymnastics, dance with 13.4%, 12.4% with

swimming, karate with 7.2%, skating with 4.1% and,

with smaller percentages of other types of sports.

- For the category of sports there is a greater

adherence to those activities where the dynamic

component prevails over the static. Do not look for

sex differences with respect to the category of

sports.

Regarding the BMI divided by category of sport

shows that the 3a group has 15.4% of overweight,

the group 1b, 17.9% and 10.7% respectively of

overweight and obese people in the group 2b 14.3%

are overweight; in 3b there is a 37.5% overweight.

In the group 1c shows a 10.1% overweight and 0.1%

obese, 10.6% overweight in 2c and 1.5% obese,

while in 3c there is a 100.0% of normal weight.

Regarding the eating habits has been possible to

analyze that:

- only 2.4% of children reported not eating

breakfast, while 24.8% reported not to carry out the

mid-morning snack, as opposed to 16.4% who did

not make a mid-afternoon snack. Among females

3.1% does breakfast, compared with 1.5% of males,

22.7% of mid-morning snack, against 18.4% and

12.4% of the snack mid-afternoon, males 12.7%.

- 2.7% reported to follow a particular diet. Females

with 3.1% of males with 1.8%.

- 1.8% are intolerant to gluten, while 6.1% had other

types of food intolerances.

- 13.9% reported making use of dietary supplements,

7.6% of these makes use of vitamins and minerals,

3.9% of only vitamins, while the 1.5% of only

minerals. Among males, the use of supplements is

15.02%, of these 3.43% and 12.44% customarily

occasionally.

- The frequency of weekly consumption of food

shows that cereals and derivatives are consumed on

average 13.5 (± 4.7), fresh meat 4.7 (± 3.1),

preserved meats 3.3 (± 2.8), the fish 1.6 (± 1.4), milk

and yogurt 7.0 (± 3.8), cheese 3.7 (± 3.3), fresh fruit

8.2 (± 5.5), dried fruit 0.8 (± 1.8), vegetables 7.1 (±

5.6), legumes 1.7 (± 1.7), eggs 1.5 (± 1.1),

confectionery 4.8 (± 4.4) and sweetened drinks 1.6

(± 2.3).

T Student Test were used to compare the data with a

significance at P<.005.

There is a significant difference in weekly

consumption between males and females, fresh and

preserved meats, milk and yogurt, vegetables and

sweetened drinks (p<0.05).

4 DISCUSSION

In the survey for the year 2013 it was possible to

detect that in Tuscany the percentage of overweight

children is 19.6% and that of obese children is 7%.

The data is very worrying though slightly less than

the national average, being 22.2% of overweight

children and 10.6% of obese children. In addition to

this we must also point out that, from the data

collected, it appears that the children of our region

still do not reach the recommended levels of

physical activity. It is estimated that 1 child in 9

appears physically inactive, more females than

males, while just over 1 in 10 children has a level of

physical activity recommended for his age (Regione

Toscana 2012).

An analysis of the guys that lend themselves to

visiting sports fitness you can see that there is a

lower percentage of overweight children but

especially obese than those collected in the entire

region of Tuscany. This aspect is extremely

important considering the risk factors, not to

mention an incorrect harmonious growth of the

child, which may occur with increasing age.

For what concerns the conduct of a constant

physical activity, excluding sport, the results are not

very encouraging: nearly 1 in 5 children does not

carry out further physical activity in addition to

sports.

Regarding eating habits, even if they are better than

the data compared to their peers who do not practice

sports, the results are not very encouraging.

Low is the consumption of cereals and derivatives, a

little more than one daily serving of fruits and

vegetables, far distant from at least 5 servings of

fruits and vegetables recommended for a healthy

diet, and consumption of fish also appears to high

consumption of fresh and preserved meats but

especially foods rich in simple sugars such as

confectionery and sweetened drinks. Although

females show a better weekly consumption habits

than males, however, do not appear entirely correct.

In accordance with the previously mentioned it is

important to carry out a constant and proper physical

activity to maintain the BMI in the correct range.

If we break for sports groups can be seen that

with increasing dynamic component decreases as the

number of overweight and obese children. Treatment

largely focuses on sustained lifestyle changes with

family involvement.

Healthy diet and increasing physical activity are

the great sections of obesity treatment.

It can be concluded from this first analysis that

for proper growth of the kids is crucial the right to a

healthy and proper diet and also the regular physical

activity.

The limitation of the study was to not take into

account people who do not practice sports.

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