Eating habits and anthropometric assessment of rhythmic Gymnasts/Habitos alimentares e perfil antropometrico de atletas de ginastica ritmica

This study presents the anthropometric profile and the eating habits of rhythmic gymnasts of competitive level, aged from 10 to 14 years old, part of two different teams A and B, team A have more hours and days per week of practice than team B. The anthropometric data assessment included weight, height and skin fold measurement, for the nutritional assessment a food frequency questionnaire and three days food record has been applied. A questionnaire was also applied for coaches in order to know if they give athletes nutrition guidance. A lack of homogeneity of the anthropometric data has been observed among the athletes, a typical feature in young gymnasts, although they were classified in ideal weight and height for age. The eating habits of athletes from team A shows an adequate intake of carbohydrates, but high intake of proteins and fat (6,9; 2,97 e 2,63 g/kg/day respectively), while team B presents a consume closer to the recommendations for active people (5,48; 1,82 e 1,55 g/kg/day respectively). Nutritional mistakes had been noticed in both teams, as: low intake of water, vegetables, fruits and eggs, and a high intake of processed meats. It was found no nutritional counseling and the coaches' end up responsible of this due. It was concluded the need of sports nutrition intervention in order to instruct coaches, gymnasts and the family on how to improve eating habits, performance and to maintain health. Key words: Food intake. Sports Nutrition. Anthropometry. Este estudo apresenta o perfil antropometrico e alimentar de atletas de Ginastica Ritmica de nivel competitivo regional com idade entre 10 e 14 anos, que compoem duas equipes (A e B) que se diferenciam entre o numero de horas e numero de sessoes de treinamento por semana. A coleta de dados consistiu de uma avaliacao antropometrica, da avaliacao dietetica mediante a aplicacao do questionario de frequencia alimentar e do registro alimentar de tres dias; e um questionario aplicado as treinadoras sobre a orientacao nutricional oferecida as atletas. Foi observada a falta de homogeneidade em relacao aos aspectos antropometricos, condicao tipica de atletas iniciantes, embora todas as ginastas se apresentem dentro dos padroes normais de peso e altura para a idade. Com respeito ao consumo alimentar a equipe A apresenta uma media de consumo adequada para os carboidratos, porem elevada para proteinas e gorduras (6,9; 2,97 e 2,63 g/kg/dia respectivamente), enquanto a equipe B uma media de consumo mais proxi