PMID- 11310548
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20010913
LR  - 20181113
IS  - 0112-1642 (Print)
IS  - 0112-1642 (Linking)
VI  - 31
IP  - 4
DP  - 2001
TI  - Guidelines for daily carbohydrate intake: do athletes achieve them?
PG  - 267-99
AB  - Official dietary guidelines for athletes are unanimous in their recommendation of 
      high carbohydrate (CHO) intakes in routine or training diets. These guidelines 
      have been criticised on the basis of a lack of scientific support for superior 
      training adaptations and performance, and the apparent failure of successful 
      athletes to achieve such dietary practices. Part of the problem rests with the 
      expression of CHO intake guidelines in terms of percentage of dietary energy. It 
      is preferable to provide recommendations for routine CHO intake in grams 
      (relative to the body mass of the athlete) and allow flexibility for the athlete 
      to meet these targets within the context of their energy needs and other dietary 
      goals. CHO intake ranges of 5 to 7 g/kg/day for general training needs and 7 to 
      10 g/kg/day for the increased needs of endurance athletes are suggested. The 
      limitations of dietary survey techniques should be recognised when assessing the 
      adequacy of the dietary practices of athletes. In particular, the errors caused 
      by under-reporting or undereating during the period of the dietary survey must be 
      taken into account. A review of the current dietary survey literature of athletes 
      shows that a typical male athlete achieves CHO intake within the recommended 
      range (on a g/kg basis). Individual athletes may need nutritional education or 
      dietary counselling to fine-tune their eating habits to meet specific CHO intake 
      targets. Female athletes, particularly endurance athletes, are less likely to 
      achieve these CHO intake guidelines. This is due to chronic or periodic 
      restriction of total energy intake in order to achieve or maintain low levels of 
      body fat. With professional counselling, female athletes may be helped to find a 
      balance between bodyweight control issues and fuel intake goals. Although we look 
      to the top athletes as role models, it is understandable that many do not achieve 
      optimal nutrition practices. The real or apparent failure of these athletes to 
      achieve the daily CHO intakes recommended by sports nutritionists does not 
      necessarily invalidate the benefits of meeting such guidelines. Further 
      longitudinal studies of training adaptation and performance are needed to 
      determine differences in the outcomes of high versus moderate CHO intakes. In the 
      meantime, the recommendations of sports nutritionists are based on plentiful 
      evidence that increased CHO availability enhances endurance and performance 
      during single exercise sessions.
FAU - Burke, L M
AU  - Burke LM
AD  - Department of Sports Nutrition, Australian Institute of Sport, Belconnen, ACT, 
      Australia. louise.burke@ausport.gov.au
FAU - Cox, G R
AU  - Cox GR
FAU - Culmmings, N K
AU  - Culmmings NK
FAU - Desbrow, B
AU  - Desbrow B
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
PL  - New Zealand
TA  - Sports Med
JT  - Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)
JID - 8412297
RN  - 0 (Dietary Carbohydrates)
SB  - IM
MH  - Dietary Carbohydrates/*administration & dosage
MH  - Female
MH  - *Guidelines as Topic
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - *Nutrition Assessment
MH  - Research
MH  - Sports/*physiology
RF  - 178
EDAT- 2001/04/20 10:00
MHDA- 2001/09/14 10:01
CRDT- 2001/04/20 10:00
PHST- 2001/04/20 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2001/09/14 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2001/04/20 10:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.2165/00007256-200131040-00003 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Sports Med. 2001;31(4):267-99. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200131040-00003.