Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in inactive adults, indoor cycling practitioners and amateur cyclists

There is limited information referred to the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD) and sports practice. To determinate the association of cycling practice and cycling training volume with the AMD and the influence of the participation in a high-demand cyclist event on the AMD. A first evaluation of AMD in 785 (84 women) amateur cyclists (volume: ≥ 7 hours/week), 514 (224 women) indoor cycling practitioners (volume: 2-6 hours/week) and 718 (411 women) inactive adults was conducted in May coinciding with the participation of cyclists in a cycling event. A subsample of 359 cyclists and 148 inactive subjects agreed to be retested in November, far from the cycling event date. The MEDAS-14 questionnaire was used to assess the AMD and a self-designed questionnaire was used to assess the volume of training. 40% of subjects showed high AMD. In both sexes, athletes showed higher AMD than inactive subjects, with the highest indexes for groups of cyclists (p < 0.001). The relationship between AMD and training volume was weak (men: r = 0.137, women: r = 0.173; p < 0.001). The AMD of cyclists decreased from May to November (p < 0.001) with no significant changes in inactive subjects (p = 0.535). Cycling is associated to higher values of AMD with a limited influence of training volume and transient positive effects of participation in a cycling endurance event.