Nutritional survey of highly trained women runners13 954 Am J Clin Nutr l986;44:954-62. Printed in USA. © 1986 American Society for Clinical Nutrition Patricia A Deuster, PhD, Susan B Kyle, MA, Phylis B Moser, PhD, Robert A Vigersky, MD, Anita Singh, MS. and Eric B Schoomaker, MD, PhD ABSTRACT Mean daily intakes from 3-daydietary records forcalories, energy-providing nutrients, and selected minerals were Calculated for 51 highly trained women runnem. Selected blood constituents relating to mineral status were also measured. Intakes ofcalcium, magnesium, iron, and copper were above the amounts recommended by the National Research Council whereas zinc intake was below the recommended dietary allowances(RDA). Caloric intakes, although above the RDA for sedentary women, appeared low for women running 10 miles/day. Concentrations ofserum ferritin and plasma zinc were indicative of marginal iron and zinc status in many of the women. Whether the nutrient content of the diets consumed by these women is adequate relative to energy output or whether training lowers nutrient requirements by enhancing metabolic efficiency will require further inves- tigation. Am J Clin Nuir l986;45:954-62. KEY WORDS Calcium, iron, magnesium, kcalories, serum ferritin, zinc Introduction Despite the rapid increase in numbers of women involved in vigorous exercise pro- grams, there is a paucity ofinformation about the nutritional needs ofathletic women. Stud- ies ofiron status have been conducted because iron deficiency is considered one ofthe leading nutritional problems. Generally, a high prey- alence ofboth clinical and subclinical iron de- ficiency has been found among women ath- letes (1-3), but the issue ofrecommending oral supplementation remains controversial. Recent dietary surveys have provided cvi- dence that in addition to iron, intakes of mag- nesium, calcium, and zinc are well below the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for large numbers of sedentary women (4-10). Although there are several briefreports which indicate that dietary intakes of physically ac- tive women are also inadequate (11-13), comprehensive evaluations of dietary intakes and biochemical measures ofnutritional status have not been conducted on highly trained women. Thus, the body of evidence available for making recommendations about the nu- trient requirements of women athletes is lim- ited. The American Dietetic Association maintains that when caloric expenditure in- creases, increasing consumption of calories will usually provide adequate amounts of both macro- and micronutrients (14). This as- sumption may or may not be accurate because many athletes develop food aversions and re- strict their energy intakes to maintain a certain body size (15). Such caloric restrictions might compromise mineral intakes and balances. The purpose of this study was to obtain comprehensive nutritional profiles on highly trained women runners. Three-day dietary records were used to determine nutrient in- takes, and blood biochemical indices were used to assess nutritional status. In particular, the following issues were addressed: 1) Are ca- loric intakes relative to reported activity levels within the range recommended by RDA (16)? 2) Do macronutrient intakes by women run- ners approximate the Dietary Guidelines (17)? 3) Do dietary intakes ofthe essential minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper I From the Departments of Military Medicine, Medi- cine, and Physiology(PAD, SBK, RAV, EBS), Uniformed Services University ofthe Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD and the Department of Nutrition (PBM, AS), University of Maryland, College Park, MD. 2 Supported by Grant CO76AD from the Uniformed Services University ofthe Health Sciences. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views ofthe DOD or the USUHS. 3 Address reprints request to: Dr Patricia A Deuster, Department of Military Medicine, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, USUHS, Bethesda, MD 20814. Received February 6, 1986. Accepted for publication May 13, 1986. by guest on June 2, 2013 ajcn.nutrition.org Downloaded from