Dietary Intake of Antioxidant Vitamins in Diets of Amateur Adults Preparing For a Marathon

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of antioxidant vitamins in the diet of amateurs preparing for a marathon. The study group consisted of 92 women (30.8 ±6.7 years old) and 66 men (33.2 ±6.6 years old). Assessment of the content of antioxidant vitamins in the diet of the subjects was made on the basis of the 3-day dietary records. The average content of vitamin A in the diets of women surveyed was 1,296.8 mg/day and 1,499.7 mg/day in the diets of men. The vitamin A content of less than 90% of the norm was observed in the diets of 2.2% women and 9.1% men. The average content of vitamin C in the diet amounted to 130.6 (women) and 111.4 (men) mg/day. Significantly more men than women (30% vs 13%) did not fulfill the norm for vitamin C. The average vitamin E content was higher in the diets of men than in women (15.2 vs 13.0 mg/day; p < 0.0001). The vitamin E content was insufficient compared to norms in the diets of 10% of women and 12% of men. The average content of vitamins A, C and E in the diet of the subjects significantly exceeded the recommendations. The largest proportion of diets, not meeting the stated norms for vitamin C were in the group of men.

Keywords

• antioxidant vitamins
• marathon
• 3-day dietary records