Dietary Intake and the Use of Dietary Supplements among College Female Athletes

Inadequate caloric intake and micronutrient deficiencies may be detrimental to athletic performance and recovery. Therefore, there is a need for athletes to be educated by a health professional about the importance of a well-balanced diet, supplement use and energy requirements for specific to each athlete's sport. The purpose of the present study was to examine dietary intake of essential nutrients and the use of dietary supplements in NCAA Division I female athletes. Eighty athletes from track & field, rowing, and soccer teams completed a 24-hour dietary recall for a week day and dietary supplement survey. Mean energy intake was 2068 +/- 532 kcal/day. The percentage of energy obtained from carbohydrate, protein, total fat and saturated fat to total fat ratio were 47 +/- 9, 18 +/- 6, 36 +/- 8 and 32 +/- 9 %. Cholesterol and fiber intakes were 275 +/- 194 mg and 20 +/- 9 g respectively. Total fat and saturated fat intake exceeded recommendations of the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR). Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) were met for most of the micronutrients excluding deficiencies for vitamin A (>10%), iron (<10%), and potassium (>10%) (all teams) and calcium (<10%) for rowing and track and field teams. In addition, 78% of athletes reported taking vitamin and/or mineral supplements and 96% reported taking sport specific and other dietary supplements in the past 30 days. The most common supplements used were multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin B-12, calcium, iron, sports drinks and energy drinks. In conclusion, 24-hour dietary recall for athletes indicate inadequate intake of iron, calcium and vitamin A which are critical for energy metabolism and bone health in young athletes. Nutritional counseling specific to these micronutrients for female athletes is warranted.