Abstract

BERNAD ASENCIO, Laura  and  REIG GARCIA-GALBIS, Manuel. Energy and macronutrient intake in female athletes. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2015, vol.32, n.5, pp.1936-1948. ISSN 1699-5198.  https://dx.doi.org/10.3305/nh.2015.32.5.9280.

Objetive: to determine the adequate intake of macronutrients to improve the nutritional status of women athletes and their sports performance. Methods: a search was performed in four databases: EBSCO, Proquest, Pubmed and OvidSP, using the keywords "protein intake" AND "athletes", "endurance athletes" AND "nutrition". Selection criteria: original articles about protein intake in female athletes, published between 2009 and 2014, and whose source are indexed scientific journals. Results: 722 articles were identified, of which only 1.4% were considered to be included. 100% were completed clinical trials and published abroad, 50% in the US. 20% were exclusive studies of female athletes and 80% included men and women in the sample. In 70% of studies female athletes presented energy deficiencies; in protein intake, 70% met the dietary recommendations; carbohydrate intake was inadequate in 90% of clinical trials and in 50% of cases women had a high intake of fat. Conclusion: there is lack about nutrition in female athletes in Europe and internationally. Female athletes consume less energy and macronutrients that male athletes. There is no consensus on the recommended protein range and there are differences in consumption depending on the type of exercise being performed. It is recommended to carry out an agreement between scientific institutions about energy intake and macronutrient in sport, with particular emphasis on women.

Keywords : Protein intake; Athletes; Nutrition; Endurance athletes.

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