Energy and macronutrient intake of advanced polish sport climbers

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess energy and macronutrient intakes in a group of elite sport climbers. The study group comprised 23 climbers, including 13 males and 10 females. Energy and macronutrient intakes were estimated from a seven-day food diaries. Intakes of energy, protein, carbohydrates and fat expressed in unites per kilograms of body weight were, respectively: 33.30 (±6.47) kcal, 1.48 (±0.34) g, 3.96 (±0.95) g and 1.22(±0.32) g. No differences between female and male climbers were found in mean energy and macronutrients intake, although in the case of protein intake a tendency towards significance was found (p=0.073) with males consuming relatively more proteins than females: 1.59(±0.40) g/kg BW vs 1.34(±0.17) g/kg BW. In conclusion, our data suggest that energy intake of climbers is low, taking as a point of reference current intake guidelines. Suboptimal supply especially concerns carbohydrates while intakes of the remaining macronutrients, proteins and fats, were within the recommended values.