Energy intake and energy expenditure of pre-professional female contemporary dancers

Many athletes in aesthetic and weight dependent sports are at risk of energy imbalance. However little is known about the exercise and eating behaviours of highly trained dance populations. This investigation sought to determine the energy intake and energy expenditure of pre-professional female contemporary dancers. Twenty-five female contemporary dance students completed the study. Over a 7-day period, including five week days (with scheduled dance training at a conservatoire) and two weekend days (with no scheduled dance training at the conservatoire), energy intake (self-reported weighed food diary and 24 h dietary recall) and expenditure (tri-axial accelerometry) were recorded. Mean daily energy intake and expenditure were different over the 7-day period (P = 0.014) equating to an energy deficit of -356 ± 668 kcal·day-1 (or -1.5 ± 2.8 MJ·day-1). Energy expenditure was not different when comparing week and weekend days (P = 0.297). However daily energy intake (P = 0.002), energy availability (P = 0.003), and energy balance (P = 0.004) were lower during the week compared to the weekend, where energy balance became positive. The percentage contribution of macronutrients to total energy intake also differed; with higher fat (P = 0.022) and alcohol (P = 0.020), and lower carbohydrate (P = 0.001) and a trend for lower protein (P = 0.051) at the weekend. Energy balance and appropriate macronutrient intake are essential for maintaining the demands of training, performance and recovery. Whilst aesthetics are important, female contemporary dancers may be at risk of the numerous health and performance impairments associated with negative energy balance, particularly during periods of scheduled training

LINDA - a solution-focused low-intensity intervention aimed at improving health behaviors of young females: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

We aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an individualized, long-term support lifestyle counseling approach in promoting healthy physical activity, improving dietary and sleeping behaviors, and preventing weight gain in young females. The counseling approach's intensity was designed to be low enough to be implementable in primary health care. METHODS: Young women (n = 3,059, age at baseline 17-21 years) attending a population-based human papilloma virus vaccination trial (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00122681) in 15 vaccination centers in different communities across Finland, were cluster-randomized into intervention and control arms of the LINDA intervention. Both intervention and control arms received counseling on sexual health and contraception from the study nurses as part of the vaccination trial. Additionally, the LINDA intervention arm (n = 1,537) received a 20-minute individualized lifestyle counseling session followed by further support at the six-monthly follow-up visits of the vaccination trial, in total for 1.5-2.5 years.The LINDA solution-focused brief therapy intervention focused on healthy physical activity, and dietary and sleeping behaviors, based on the needs and interests of the participants. Anthropometrics were measured, and data on health-related behaviors were collected using self-report questionnaires at baseline and after the intervention at 1.5-2.5 years. RESULTS: In the intervention arm, 37% vs. 31% in the control arm made an overall improvement in their health behaviors concerning physical activity, meal regularity and/or earlier bedtime (NNT = 18, 95% CI = 11-50). The per-protocol analysis further revealed that 30% of those who actually received lifestyle change support on healthy physical activity behaviors improved their physical activity level vs. 23% in the control group (NNT = 15, 95% CI = 9-38). Respectively, 36% of those who received support on healthy sleeping behaviors went to sleep earlier before school-/work-days after the intervention vs. 28% in the control group (NNT = 13, 95% CI = 7-61). Dinner irregularity increased in both groups, but less in the intervention group among those who received support on healthy dietary behaviors (NNT = 15, 95%CI = 9-46). There was no effect on weight gain between baseline and study end-point. CONCLUSIONS: The solution-focused brief therapy intervention, with individually tailored content, helped to make small, long-term overall improvements in health behaviors concerning physical activity, meal regularity and/or earlier bedtime.BioMed Central open acces