Highlights from the International Sport and Exercise Nutrition Conference (ISENC)
Written by: Nancy Clark
At the International Sport and Exercise Nutrition Conference (ISENC), held in Manchester, England, from December 18th to 20th, leading international speakers presented the latest information on nutrition as it relates to performance and health. Over 280 sports nutritionists, personal trainers, students, and professionals interested in sports nutrition gathered in Manchester for the high-level educational event that included 30 speakers, 37 sessions, and 48 abstracts.
Below is a summary of some of the cutting-edge abstracts that were presented.
- Trained men and women (n=28; average age, 25 years) on a 10-week weight-gain diet consumed either 500 additional calories of peanuts/peanut butter-based snacks or 500 calories of a carb-based, peanut-free snack foods. They performed rigorous resistance training 3/week and gained, on average 2.2 kg, total body weight (TBW) of which 1.5 kg was Lean Body Mass (LBM). The peanut group gained 1.5 kg TBW / 0.96 kg LBM; the carb group gained more: 2.7kg TBW /1.9 kg LBM. This challenges the belief that “calorie-dense peanut butter is fattening”!
- Ten healthy young men (22 y) and 10 older men (69 y) consumed 30 additional grams of plant protein from mycoprotein, spirulina, chlorella, pea, and lupin. At 5 hours, the amount of circulating amino acids (AA) in the blood varied from source to source and increased faster in the young (21 years) subjects compared with the older (69 years) adults. Eating a variety of foods is always a good idea.
- Elite cyclists commonly have low Bone Mineral Density (BMD). In this 18-week study, elite male and female cyclists (n=18; 21 years) ingested 15 grams of hydrolysed collagen and then did five minutes of jumping exercises, five times a week. BMD improved in the femoral neck (as compared to a slight decrease in the control group). This intervention suggesting jumping exercise + collagen might be a promising strategy to counteract the negative impact of professional cycling on bone health.
- Sodium bicarbonate (SB) can be an effective buffer used during anaerobic exercise—though it often causes gastrointestinal (GI) distress with extended high intensity aerobic exercise. When recreational male cyclists took 0.2 g SB /kg for 4 days (and a placebo on test day), they were able to perform longer to exhaustion (54 minutes) as compared to 51 minutes (ns) when they took the same 0.2 g/kg SB on the morning of the test, and 50 minutes when they had the placebo. Important to note, the low-dose SB intake improved time to exhaustion with no GI complaints. In comparison, 30% of the cyclists experienced diarrhea and bloating when they took SB the morning of the exercise test. This new protocol sounds promising!
- Over 14-days during the competitive season, professional Dutch female football (soccer) players spent almost 10 hours on the field and covered about 40 km. Their total Energy Expenditure (measured with doubly labelled water) was about 2,900 kcal/day (58 kcal/kg FFM), with resting metabolic rate of about 1,400 kcal and physical activity, about 1,200 kcal. This info might be helpful to players with RED-S, giving context to what an appropriate calorie target might be (about 700 calories, four times a day).
- Healthy, active males (n=10; 25 years) endured five days of low energy availability (LEA; 10 kcal/kg as compared to 45 kcal/kg when in energy balance) elicited through a combination of decreased food intake and increased exercise expenditure. This energy deficit elicited a marked drop in weight, T3 and testosterone. The men lost 2.9 kg, of which 2.1 kg was muscle/fat-free mass and 0.8 kg was fat. Their RMR remained stable, but their T-3 dropped from 131 ng/dL to 108, and testosterone dropped from 5.94 ng/ml to 5.09. Males, as well as females, experience detrimental changes related to LEA and need to be educated about RED-S!
- Some studies with ketone supplements have shown enhanced endurance performance, but what about shorter, intense exercise? Trained cyclists (n=23) consumed a ketone supplement or placebo a half-hour before a 20-minute Velotron time trial. The cyclists generated less power with the ketone supplement. Don’t bother?
- Given the fitness industry is largely appearance-based, personal trainers commonly believe they need to maintain a desired physique to achieve success in their careers. Does this put them at high risk for developing eating disorders and disordered eating? Of the 78 personal trainers who responded to recruitment messages on Twitter and Instagram, 15% had a concerning EDE-Q score. They reported high levels of disordered eating behaviors such as binge-eating, dietary restriction, and over-exercising. Sadly, they are role models—likely hiding the high price of their desired physique.
- Weight gain in menopausal women may be due to aging, but visceral fat gain might be related to hormonal changes that occur with menopause. Dietary assessment suggests frequent snacking, evening-oriented eating, and a stronger desire to restrict food intake were associated with higher amounts of visceral fat. Staying physically active was helpful.
- Athletes in endurance and jumping sports prefer to be light to enhance their performance. Comparing leanness-focused elite male athletes (n=50; 24 years) to physically active controls (not in leanness-oriented sports), the athletes had lower BMI (21.7 vs 25.7), body fat (7% vs 17%), T-3 (4.6 vs 6.1 pmol/L), and bone mineral density (lumbar Z-score 0.3 vs 1.4). As might be expected, the prevalence of RED-S criteria was lower in the control group (only 28% met one criteria) as compared to the majority of the leanness-focused athletes (50%: 0-1 RED-S criteria; 40% -2-3 criteria). The effort to attain a desired physique can compromise health.
If this whets your appetite for more, the next ISENC will be held again at Manchester Metropolitan University on December 18-20, 2023. Visit www.isenc.org to know more about the next ISENC.
About the author: Sports Nutritionist Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD has a private practice in the Boston area. For information about her best-selling Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook and her teaching materials, visit www.NancyClarkRD.com
