AUTHOR=Reinhard Corinne , Galloway Stuart D. R. 

TITLE=Carbohydrate Intake Practices and Determinants of Food Choices During Training in Recreational, Amateur, and Professional Endurance Athletes: A Survey Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.862396

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.862396

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p>Carbohydrate (CHO) intake during exercise can optimize endurance performance. However, there is limited information regarding fueling practices of endurance athletes during training. Accordingly, an anonymous German-language online survey was circulated examining the determinants of CHO choices, and intake practices among runners, triathletes, and cyclists during training. Survey questions included predefined answers, and a Likert scale with response of CHO food choice intakes from 1 = never to 5 = always. 1,081 endurance participants (58.0% male, 68.6% aged 18–39 years) of varying competitive levels were included in the analysis. Overall, most participants consumed a combination of commercial sport nutrition products and everyday foods (67.4%, <italic>n</italic> = 729) with their primary reason that food-first was preferred, but in some exercise scenarios, commercial sport nutrition products were deemed more convenient (61.3%, <italic>n</italic> = 447). Participants consuming commercial sport nutrition products only (19.3%, <italic>n</italic> = 209) most often valued their ease of intake during exercise (85.2%, <italic>n</italic> = 178). Among those consuming everyday foods only (13.2%, <italic>n</italic> = 143), the most common reason was the perceived importance of eating wholesome foods/natural ingredients (84.6%, <italic>n</italic> = 121). Between the most frequently consumed CHO sources during training at low-to-moderate intensities (<italic>n</italic> = 1032), sports drinks (mean ± SD; 2.56 ± 1.33) were consumed significantly more often than bananas (2.27 ± 1.14, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), with no significant difference in intake frequency between bananas and traditional muesli/fruit/energy bars (2.25 ± 1.14, <italic>p</italic> = 0.616). Whereas during high intensities (<italic>n</italic> = 1,077), sports drinks (3.31 ± 1.51) were significantly more often consumed than gels (2.79 ± 1.37), and gels significantly more often than energy bars (2.43 ± 1.28), all commercial sport nutrition products (all, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Overall, 95.1% (<italic>n</italic> = 1028) of all participants consumed CHO during training at all exercise intensities, with males (<italic>n</italic> = 602; 2.35 ± 0.70) consuming significantly more often commercial sport nutrition products than females (<italic>n</italic> = 424; 2.14 ± 0.79, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001); females consumed significantly more often everyday foods than males (1.66 ± 0.47 vs. 1.54 ± 0.42, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Most participants used mixed CHO forms during low-to-moderate (87.9%), and high exercise intensities (94.7%). 67.6% (<italic>n</italic> = 731) of all participants reported guiding their CHO intake rates during training by gut feeling. These large-scale survey findings suggest a preference of endurance participants’ CHO intake during training in liquid form independent of exercise intensities and offer novel insights into CHO intake practices to guide sports nutrition strategies and education.</p>