Effects of Metabolic Testing Data and Education on Attitudes and Beliefs Related to Carbohydrate Intake in Adolescent Female Athletes

Summary

Many studies have consistently shown that females across sports under consume carbohydrate. Registered dietitians working with athletes have also reported female athletes chronically under consume carbohydrate. The primary objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of education versus education plus interpreted individual metabolic (exercise) testing results to change attitudes and beliefs of female athletes regarding carbohydrate intake. The secondary objective is to assess the effectiveness of the education alone on attitudes and beliefs towards consuming carbohydrate in female athletes. The study hypothesis is that education alone will not significantly impact attitudes and beliefs, and that metabolic testing and the interpretation of the individual results will alter attitudes and beliefs toward carbohydrate intake.

Eligibility

Age range

13–19 years

Sex

Female

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Interventions

• Other
  Education

  One 45 minute educational session on the role of carbohydrate in exercise

• Other
  Metabolic Testing (Exercise) with shared interpreted results

  One 20-30 minute session. Treadmill, warm-up, then at increasing intensities for 3-minute intervals wearing a mouthpiece for measurement of respiratory gasses (oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production). Testing starts with a 3-minute warm-up at 3.4 mph, 1% grade, increasing every 3 minutes until a respiratory exchange ratio of 1.0 is reached or volitional exhaustion

Location