Prevalence of dietary supplement use by gym members in Portugal and associated factors

Background Although there seems to be an increasing interest in the use of dietary supplements in those who exercise recreationally and want to improve body composition, there is little published data regarding gym users and dietary supplement use. Methods This cross-sectional study describes the prevalence and type of supplements used by gyms members, the reasons for using them and the information source using a self-administered online questionnaire. Results Of the 459 participants (301 females) who answered the survey, 43.8% reported using dietary supplements. Users were more likely men (62.7% vs. 33.9%, p 70%) of participants declared being well or very well informed about supplements, while only a minority (4%) felt very poorly or poorly informed. Most individuals purchased dietary supplements from the internet (56.2%) and supplement/health food stores (43.4%). Conclusion This study concluded that gyms users are large consumers of dietary supplements, and are more likely to be men, young, use protein powders, aiming to increase muscle mass, obtain information from registered dietitians, consider themselves well informed and buy supplements online

Maternal food intake and socioeconomic status to tackle childhood malnutrition

Von Wilh. Bloh

The effect of a nutrition education intervention on school-age boys attending a sports camp

RESUMOIntrodução: Modificações nos padrões alimentares e nos estilos de vida a nível mundial estão a levar ao aumento daprevalência da obesidade infantil, tornando-se imperativo explorar estratégias eficazes para prevenir e tratar esta doença.Objectivos: Este estudo não randomizado controlado avaliou a eficácia de uma intervenção de educação alimentar de curtaduração (4 horas, distribuídas por 5 dias) na melhoria dos conhecimentos dietéticos, qualidade alimentar e z-score de IMC de26 meninos em idade escolar (6 a 11 anos) a frequentar um campo de férias desportivo.Metodologia: Tanto o grupo de intervenção (n=26) como o grupo controlo (n=39) foram avaliados imediatamente antes e6 semanas após a intervenção (Índice de Massa Corporal e KIDMED foram avaliados em ambos os grupos; questionário deconhecimentos de nutrição foi aplicado apenas no grupo de intervenção).Resultados: No grupo de intervenção, foi observada uma diminuição significativa no z-score de Índice de Massa Corporal(p<0.05), sem alterações significativas nos conhecimentos nem na qualidade alimentar. No grupo controlo, não se verificaramalterações significativas em nenhuma das variáveis.Conclusões: Os campos de férias desportivos que integram intervenções de educação alimentar podem ser uma estratégiapromissora no combate à obesidade infantil.ABSTRACTIntroduction: Changes in dietary and lifestyle patterns worldwide have led to an increased prevalenceof childhood obesity, becoming imperative to explore e"ective strategies to both prevent andtreat this disease.Objectives: This non-randomized controlled trial evaluated the e"ectiveness of a short-term nutritioneducation intervention (4 hours, distributed over 5 days) on improving the dietary knowledge, dietquality and Body Mass Index-for-age z-score of 26 school-age boys (6 to 11 years old) attending aholiday sports camp.Methodology: Both intervention (n=26) and control (n=39) groups were evaluated immediatelybefore and 6 weeks after the intervention (Body Mass Index and KIDMED were evaluated for bothgroups; while nutrition knowledge questionnaire was only for intervention group).Results: In the intervention group, a significant decrease was observed in BMI z-score (p<0.05), butthe overweight and obesity prevalence remained unchanged. No significant changes in knowledgeand diet quality were found in both groups. In the control group, there were not significant changesfor any variable.Conclusions: Holiday sports camps with nutrition education interventions can be a promising strategyto combat childhood obesit

Oxidative stress, muscle damage and inflammtion in kayakers and canoeists: effects of acute and chronic exercise and antioxidants supplementation

Tese de doutoramento em Nutrição Humana apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do PortoResumo da tese:Presume‐se que o exercício possa elevar a geração de espécies reactivas de oxigénio a um nível que ultrapasse a fortalecida defesa antioxidante dos atletas, causando danos oxidativos irreparáveis a nível celular, com prejuízo da sua saúde e performance física. Este trabalho teve como objectivo descrever o estado antioxidante, o stress e dano oxidativos de um grupo de caiaquistas e canoístas em repouso e em resposta ao exercício agudo (prova de caiaque de 1000 m) e ao exercício crónico (1 ano de treino e competição), bem como investigar se a sumplementação com uma combinação de antioxidantes poderia atenuar estes efeitos. Estimou‐se a ingestão alimentar de antioxidantes e determinou‐se a actividade da dismutase do superóxido (SOD), reductase da glutationa (Gr), peroxidase da glutationa e cínase da creatina e os níveis do estado antioxidante total (TAS), ácido úrico, α‐tocoferol, retinol, α‐caroteno, β‐caroteno, licopeno, luteína e zeaxantina, substâncias reactivas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS), interleucina‐6 (IL‐6) e cortisol em várias ocasiões em 2 épocas deportivas, quando os atletas se encontravam no Centro de Treinos Nacional. As amostras de sangue foram colhidas em repouso e 15 minutos depois do conclusão da prova de 1000m de caiaque, antes e após do período de suplementação. Neste último estudo, os atletas foram distribuídos aleatoriamente para receber um placebo ou um suplemento antioxidante (272 mg α‐tocoferol, 400 mg vitamina C, 30 mg β‐caroteno, 2 mg luteína, 400 μg selénio, 30 mg zinco and 600 mg magnésio) durante 4 semanas. (...)Thesis abstract:It is postulated that exercise generates a surplus production of reactive oxygen species that may even surpass the strengthened antioxidant defences of athletes, causing irreparable cellular oxidative damage, which can harm their health and physical performance. This work aimed to describe antioxidant status, oxidative stress and damage of a group of elite kayakers and canoeists at rest and in response to acute exercise (1000m kayak trial) and chronic exercise (1 year of habitual training and competition), and investigate if a supplementation with a combination of antioxidants could attenuate these effects. Dietary intake of antioxidants was estimated, and blood superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (Gr), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and creatine kinase (CK) activities, and total antioxidant status (TAS), uric acid, α‐tocopherol, retinol, α‐carotene, β‐carotene, lycopene, lutein plus zeaxanthin, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and cortisol levels were determined in several occasions in 2 seasons, while athletes were training on the Portuguese National Team Campus. The blood samples were collected in resting conditions and 15 min after a 1000m kayak race, both before and after supplementation. In last study, athletes were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or an antioxidant supplement (272 mg α‐tocopherol, 400 mg vitamin C, 30 mg β‐carotene, 2 mg lutein, 400 μg selenium, 30 mg zinc and 600 mg magnesium) for 4 weeks. Kayakers/canoeists exhibited significantly elevated markers of lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and muscle damage (CK) compared with sedentary subjects, despite having increased α‐ tocopherol, α‐carotene and β‐carotene levels and SOD activity. The activities of GPx and Gr, and the levels of lycopene, lutein + zeaxanthin, retinol and uric acid were similar between groups. (...

The effect of menthol rinsing before intermittent exercise on physiological, physical, and thermo-behavioral responses of male football referees in hot and humid environment

IntroductionIn the current experiment, we aimed to evaluate whether eliciting pre-exercise non-thermal cooling sensations would alter perceptual measures, and physical and physiological responses in football referees.MethodsNine highly trained male football referees undertook two 45-minute intermittent exercise protocols in hot and humid conditions (34.2 ± 0.6°C, 62.5 ± 1.0% relative humidity). In a randomized counterbalanced crossover design, 1 of 2 beverages were given before the warm-up: a 0.01% menthol solution or a placebo noncaloric solution. Physical performance was quantified as total distance covered in each of the three 15-minute exercise blocks. Core temperature, heart rate, thermal sensation and thermal comfort were measured at rest and after each exercise block.ResultsNo changes were observed between trials and over time for distance covered. No main effect of mouth rinse was observed for core temperature and heart rate, but both increased over time in all conditions (P &lt; 0.001). Thermal sensation and thermal comfort were significantly improved with menthol after mouth-rinsing (P &lt; 0.05), but with no differences at any other time-point.DiscussionThese results indicate that non-thermal cooling oral stimuli provide immediate behavioral changes but may not influence physiological or physical responses in football referees, during intermittent exercise in hot and humid environments. Clinical Trial Registrationwww.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT05632692

Performance effects of internal pre- and per-cooling across different exercise and environmental conditions: A systematic review

Exercise in a hot and humid environment may endanger athletes health and affect physical performance. This systematic review aimed to examine whether internal administration of ice, cold beverages or menthol solutions may be beneficial for physical performance when exercising in different environmental conditions and sports backgrounds. A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus databases, from inception to April 2022, to identify studies meeting the following inclusion criteria: healthy male and female physically active individuals or athletes (aged 18 years); an intervention consisting in the internal administration (i.e., ingestion or mouth rinse) of ice slush, ice slurry or crushed ice and/or cold beverages and/or menthol solutions before and/or during exercise; a randomized crossover design with a control or placebo condition; the report of at least one physical performance outcome; and to be written in English. Our search retrieved 2,714 articles in total; after selection, 43 studies were considered, including 472 participants, 408 men and 64 women, aged 18-42 years, with a VO2max ranging from 46.2 to 67.2 mLkg1min1. Average ambient temperature and relative humidity during the exercise tasks were 32.4 ± 3.5°C (ranging from 22°C to 38°C) and 50.8 ± 13.4% (varying from 20.0% to 80.0%), respectively. Across the 43 studies, 7 exclusively included a menthol solution mouth rinse, 30 exclusively involved ice slurry/ice slush/crushed ice/cold beverages intake, and 6 examined both the effect of thermal and non-thermal internal techniques in the same protocol. Rinsing a menthol solution (0.01%) improved physical performance during continuous endurance exercise in the heat. Conversely, the ingestion of ice or cold beverages did not seem to consistently increase performance, being more likely to improve performance in continuous endurance trials, especially when consumed during exercises. Co-administration of menthol with or within ice beverages seems to exert a synergistic effect by improving physical performance. Even in environmental conditions that are not extreme, internal cooling strategies may have an ergogenic effect. Further studies exploring both intermittent and outdoor exercise protocols, involving elite male and female athletes and performed under not extreme environmental conditions are warranted.Systematic review registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021268197], identifier [CRD42021268197]

The Emergence of eSports Nutrition: A Review

Peak cognitive performance is of paramount importance for the sports and competitive activities that depend on a high level of cognitive performance, such as eSports. The popularity of eSports has increased rapidly in recent years and will probably continue to rise in the forthcoming years. Above all, eSports practitioners require higher levels of cognitive abilities and motor skills for optimal performance and may benefit from adequate body composition and proper nutrition, as happens with more traditional athletes. However, there is a noticeable shortage of scientific knowledge in this area, including in nutritional-related aspects. Therefore, the objective of this non-systematic review is to summarize the nutritional strategies that may enhance health, cognitive performance, decrease reaction time and minimize fatigue. This information may be relevant for eSports competitors and set a base for further investigations, which could ultimately lead to the establishment of nutritional recommendations specific for this competitive population