Dietary intake of Gozitan female aesthetic athletes

Abstract

Background: While the dietary intake of several sports populations has been extensively studied worldwide, in the dance arts data is limited and no studies have been conducted locally. The central aim of this study is to assess the dietary intake of adult, Gozitan, female dancers. Method: All dance schools in Gozo (n=7) were invited to participate via email. A 4-day food and beverage diary recorded between Thursday and Sunday was used to assess the dietary intake of eligible students and teachers of dance schools in Gozo. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess demographic data and exercise energy expenditure, adapted from the ‘International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form’. Participants’ energy and macronutrient intakes were compared to the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) using the one sample t-test. The paired samples t-test was used to determine any significant differences in dietary intake between weekdays and the weekend. Results: Of a potential 25 eligible participants, 14 engaged in the study yielding a 56% response rate. The majority of participants were recreational dancers (n=11). The mean daily energy intake was 1306+348kcal/day with 34.7+5.7% coming from fat. The mean carbohydrate and protein intakes were 2.4+0.8g/kg bodyweight and 1.1+0.3g/kg bodyweight respectively. The mean total energy expenditure was 2034+190kcal/day. The daily mean energy, carbohydrate and protein intakes were lower than the RDA, while mean fat intake was higher. There was no evidence of a significant difference in dietary intake between weekdays and the weekend (p=0.309 carbohydrates, p=0.596 fat, p=0.956 protein). Conclusion: Professional dancers failed to meet energy, carbohydrates and protein recommendations for athletic populations whereas recreational dancers were likely to consume sufficient energy, carbohydrate and protein intakes. Dietary fat recommendations were met by half of the participants and exceeded by the rest. This study was the first to assess the dietary intake of a dance population locally. Given the findings, further research in a larger cohort of local dancers, potentially using different dietary assessment methods is worth investigating.