DIETARY PRACTICES OF AEROBIC DANCERS AND BODYBUILDERS IN VHEMBE DISTRICT, LIMPOPO PROVINCE: ASSESSING THE NEED FOR NUTRITION INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

Abstract

Introduction: Recreational sports have gained popularity in South Africa. However, the dietary practices of participants remain unknown. The study evaluated the nutrient and timing of intake of recreational sports participants in the Vhembe District (VD), Limpopo Province. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to evaluate the dietary practices of 112 recreational sports participants in the VD. Ethical clearance and written consent were obtained from the Turfloop Research Ethics Committee (TREC) and participants, respectively. Multiple 24-hour-recall questionnaires were used to capture all food consumed the previous day and the intake timing (before, during, and after physical activity). Portion sizes were estimated using marked household utensils during the interview/recall. The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used to validate the 24-hour recalls. The Food Finder (electronic software) was used to determine nutrient intake and descriptive statistics through the Statistical Package for Social Science (version 28) to report the practices of participants. Results: Participants were aged 34.2±9.0 years, majority of whom being males (58%) engaging in recreational aerobic dance and bodybuilding programs. Participants trained three times or more per week for two hours. Aerobic dancers consumed energy (16.6±8.0kcal/kg/day), CHO (3.4±1.5g/kg/day), protein (0.6±0.2g/kg/day), and fat (0.4±0.3g/kg/day) suboptimal. Similarly, bodybuilders consumed energy (55.6±1.0kcal/kg/day), CHO (1.5±0.2g/kg/day), and protein (0.4±0.0g/kg/day) suboptimal, while the fat intake (0.6±0.3g/kg/day) was optimal. Participants mainly drank water prior to, during, and after physical activity. However, no other nutrient-dense meals or beverages were consumed. Conclusion: The dietary intake and timing of recreational participants were suboptimal, thus, deviated from the sport nutrition recommendations, respectively.