Carbohydrate knowledge, beliefs, and intended practices, of endurance athletes who report exercise-associated gastrointestinal symptoms

Rachel Scrivin; Ricardo J S Costa; Fiona Pelly; Dana Lis; Gary Slater

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1133022

Carbohydrate knowledge, beliefs, and intended practices, of endurance athletes who report exercise-associated gastrointestinal symptoms

Front Nutr. 2023 Apr 12:10:1133022. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1133022. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Rachel Scrivin^{1

2}, Ricardo J S Costa³, Fiona Pelly¹, Dana Lis⁴, Gary Slater¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia.
² Faculty of Health, Education and Environment, Te Pukenga, New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, Tauranga, New Zealand.
³ Department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behaviour, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore carbohydrate (CHO) knowledge, beliefs, and intended practices of endurance athletes who experience exercise-associated gastrointestinal symptoms (Ex-GIS) compared to those without Ex-GIS. A validated online questionnaire was completed by endurance athletes (n = 201) participating in >60 min of exercise that present with Ex-GIS (n = 137) or without (n = 64). Descriptive statistics were used for parametric and non-parametric data with appropriate significance tests. Associations between categorical data were assessed by Chi-square analysis, and post-hoc Bonferroni tests were applied when significant. A content analysis of open-ended responses was grouped into themes, and quantitative statistics were applied. Participants included runners (n = 114, 57%), triathletes (n = 43, 21%) and non-running sports (n = 44, 21%) who participate in recreational competitive (n = 74, 37%), recreational non-competitive (n = 64, 32%), or competitive regional, national, or international levels (n = 63, 31%). Athletes correctly categorized CHO (x̄ = 92-95%) and non-CHO (x̄ = 88-90%) food and drink sources. On a Likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) athletes typically agree or strongly agree that consuming CHO around key training sessions and competitions enhances athletic performance [median = 4 (IQR, 4-5)], and they intend to consume more CHO around exercise [median = 3 (IQR, 2-3)]. No differences in beliefs and intentions were found among athletes with or without Ex-GIS. To enhance athletic performance, most endurance athletes intend to consume more CHO around exercise. Adequate knowledge of CHO-containing food sources was apparent; however, specific CHO ingestion practices remain to be verified.

Keywords: athlete preferences; athletic performance; exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome; nutrition; prolonged exercise.