Abstract

Athletes and their coaches must pay special attention to nutritional care as an integral part of a proper diet for optimal physical development of athletes and achieving optimal results. Special exception in sports science is given to endurance athletes. Particular attention is paid to endurance-trained female athletes who are often attributed to the unbalanced nutritional risk group. These data led to the objective: to assess the nutritional status and body composition of Lithuanian high-performance cyclists by gender. In 2012, during the general preparation have been investigated and evaluated the diet and body composition of Lithuanian high-performance cyclists (n = 50). The results showed that the optimal physical development of male athletes and moderate physical development of female athletes is determined by Lithuanian elite cyclist’s diet. Regardless of gender, athlete’s nutrition does not meet the requirements. This is confirmed by the data that protein intake of cyclists does not meet the guidelines, including the fact that carbohydrate, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin D, magnesium and manganese intake is lower than recommended. Male athletes consume too much fat, saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, while female athletes are assigned to the risk group of an unbalanced nutrition. Energy intake of female athletes is less then energy expenditure. Women’s diet is critically low in carbohydrates, protein, essential amino acids such as valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, lysine, phenylalanine, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper and zinc. In conclusion: cyclist’s nutrition must be optimized, individualized and adjusted according to the athletes’ gender. Based on the scientific basis, cyclists are highly recommended for the supplementation with carbohydrate, essential fatty acids (omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids), vitamins and minerals. Verf.-Referat