Tip of the Month -- March. 2006 

Undereating Epidemic

A recent study looked at the eating behaviors of 345 Division I male and female student athletes. The study revealed some very interesting statistics about the undereating habits of collegiate athletes.

The majority of athletes do not consume enough calories to fuel their workouts and competitions. Seventy percent of female athletes and seventy three percent of male athletes fall short of required energy needs set forth by the USDA. Eighty percent of females and ninty percent of males do not meet the recommended carbohydrate guidelines and sixty eight percent of females and eighty one percent of males do not meet the requirements for protein.

WHY?

Upon filling out questionaires, a vast majority of female athletes reported wanting to lose weight.  The desire to lose weight seemed to motivate these athletes to consciously under eat and restricting carbohydrate and fat intake. Males on the other hand reported wanting to gain weight.  While they were undereating in terms of calories, their diets exceeded the USDA dietary guidelines for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium intake. This was because of the lack of time to prepare meals and eating away from home. This causing them to make bad food choices that are high in fat and low in other macronutrients.

CONSEQUENCES

Undereating can cause several setbacks and underachievments in sport performance and overall health. First and foremost, undereating may cause illness and increase chance of injury. The ability to recover between workouts and the inability to train at your potential is also compromised. The psychological feelings of being run down or even depressed can occur as well. Academic performance hasd been shown to suffer as well.

Consuming adaquate energy helps the body adapt to the stresses of training and recover from training sessions quickly. Protein breaks down when you train, by refueling these stores the body adapts and recovers faster. Carbohydrates also need to be replenished because they give you the ability to perform high intensity activities for a prolonged time. The inability to train at high levels will hurt the athletes ability to increase their aerobic and anaerobic capacities and inturn compromise their strength and speed outputs.

SOLUTION

Address this isuue directly to the athletes. Educate athletes about the importance of eating a well balanced diet rich in carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Undereating or making bad food choices directly impacts how a person feels and inturn impacts everyday life.

A self assessment is a great way for the ahtletes to study their eating behaviors. By visiting http://mypyramidtracker.gov. athletes can educate themselves and access their eating behaviors and possibly address any issues they may be experiencing.