Adequacy of dietary intake in swimmers during the general preparation phase

Purpose It is important that competitive swimmers follow adequate nutritional planning periodized according to their training program. The aim of this study was to assess daily energy and macronutrient intake, and its adequacy to the exercise sessions in high-performance swimmers. Methods Dietary intake of 16 swimmers (11 men and 5 women; 15–25 years) was assessed using a 3-day food record in the first phase of the training program (two swimming sessions and one complementary training every day). Daily energy expenditure and energy balance were calculated using predictive equation. Results A daily energy deficit was found in 80% ( n = 4) of women and in 18.2% ( n = 2) of men. Daily protein intake was higher than recommended in men (2.2, s = 0.4 g/kg/day; p = 0.006, d = 1.25), and a low fat intake was observed in women (1.1, s = 0.1 g/kg/day; p = 0.001, d = 4.00). Carbohydrate intake was low for most male and female swimmers related to training sessions. Morning training had 20% ( n = 1) of women and 18.2% ( n = 2) of men consuming adequate carbohydrate before training. In the afternoon, only 20% ( n = 1) of women achieved the recommendations before training sessions, and none of the swimmers achieved the recommendations for carbohydrate plus protein intake in the afternoon post-exercise period. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest: (1) most of these men consumed energy and macronutrient according to their daily requirements; (2) most of these women failed on daily energy and fat intake; (3) most of these swimmers did not achieve nutrient goals on meals near exercise, especially in the second exercise of the day.