Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the practice of resistance training

Abstract

Background: An adequate nutritional intake in physically active individuals is crucial in achieving better health and sport performance. While the resistance training community is known for the importance it gives to physique aesthetics, their dietary habits may be compromised. The aim of this study is to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the benefits of which are well documented, in practitioners of resistance training. Methodology: An anonymous, online questionnaire was distributed through social media. Respondents’ demographics, level of participation in resistance training and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet were assessed, using questions from Medi-Lite, a validated, literature-based score. The adherence score covers a total of 9 food groups, ranging from 0 (minimal adherence) to 18 (maximal adherence). One-Way ANOVA was used to assess the relationship between the adherence scores and other variables, respectively. Results: A total of 100 respondents took part in this study. The majority were males, aged 18-30, with a tertiary level of education, non-smokers, and practice bodybuilding. The mean overall adherence score was 8.4 95% CI [7.9, 9.0] which falls in the lower range of medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The results indicated that 11% of respondents had a low adherence, 80% had a medium adherence, and 9% had a high adherence. No evidence of statistically significant associations (p-values < 0.05) was found between overall adherence score and variables relating to demographics or resistance training. Conclusion: The current study was the first local research to investigate the adherence to the Mediterranean diet in resistance training practitioners. The main limitation is the use of a personal Facebook profile to distribute the questionnaire. A sponsored Facebook post would have been more ideal to eliminate this bias. Having a larger sample size would better highlight the associations between lifestyle factors and the adherence levels of the Mediterranean dietary pattern.