An Examination of the Associations Between Nutritional Peaking Strategies in Physique Sport and Competitor Characteristics

aut.relation.articlenumber2377178
aut.relation.issue1
aut.relation.journalJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
aut.relation.startpage2377178
aut.relation.volume21
dc.contributor.authorHomer, Kai A
dc.contributor.authorCross, Matt R
dc.contributor.authorHelms, Eric R
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-18T23:23:50Z
dc.date.available2024-07-18T23:23:50Z
dc.date.issued2024-07-15
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Physique athletes are subjectively judged on their on-stage esthetic per their competition division criteria. To succeed, competitors look to acutely enhance their appearance by manipulating nutritional variables in the days leading up to competition, commonly referred to as peak week (PW). Despite their documented wide adoption, PW strategies lack experimental evidence. Further, the relationship between the specific strategies and the characteristics of the competitors who implement them are unknown. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of competitor characteristics on the specific nutritional peaking strategies implemented, the length of these strategies, and the range of daily carbohydrate (CHO) intakes during these strategies. METHODS: A 58-item survey was developed to gather information on peak week nutrition and training practices of physique athletes. A total of 160 respondents above the age of 18 who had competed in the last 5 years completed the nutrition section. The topics analyzed for this paper included competitor demographics, peaking strategies utilized, and PW CHO intakes. Competitor demographics are presented with the use of descriptive statistics. Associations between competitor demographics and peaking strategies implemented, peaking strategy length, and daily CHO intake ranges were assessed using multiple logistic regression, multiple ordinal logistic regression, and linear mixed models, respectively. RESULTS: From the sampled population, ages 24-39 years (71.2%), male (68.8%), natural (65%), and amateur (90%) were the most common characteristics from their respective categories, while mean competition preparation length was 20.35 ± 8.03 weeks (Males: 19.77 ± 7.56 weeks, Females: 21.62 ± 8.93 weeks), competition preparation body mass loss was 11.5 ± 5.56 kg (M: 12.7 ± 5.76 kg, F: 7.16 ± 3.99 kg), and competition body mass was 72.09 ± 15.74 kg (M: 80.15 ± 11.33 kg, F: 54.34 ± 7.16 kg). For males, the highest and lowest daily CHO intake during PW were 489.63 ± 224.03 g (6.22 ± 2.93 g/kg body mass) and 148.64 ± 152.01 g (1.94 ± 2.17 g/kg), respectively, while for females these values were 266.73 ± 131.23 g (5.06 ± 2.67 g/kg) and 94.42 ± 80.72 g (1.81 ± 1.57 g/kg), respectively. CHO back loading (45%) and water loading (40.6%) were the most popular peaking strategies, while the most prevalent peaking strategy length was 7 days (27.2%). None of the competitor characteristics predicted the use of CHO-based peaking strategies nor peaking strategy length. For non-CHO-based strategies, drug-enhanced competitors were more likely to restrict water than non-drug enhanced, while males and professional competitors had greater odds of loading sodium than females and amateurs, respectively. Finally, when comparing the disparity in highest and lowest CHO intakes during peak week, sex was the only significant factor. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey provide further information on the nutritional peaking strategies implemented by competitors. Certain characteristics were identified as predictors of sodium loading and water restriction, and the range of daily PW CHO intake. Contrastingly, no associations were found for CHO-based peaking strategies or peaking strategy length. While our analyses may be underpowered, and thus results should be interpreted with caution, it appears the nutritional peaking strategies implemented by physique competitors are seemingly complex and highly individual.
dc.identifier.citationJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, ISSN: 1550-2783 (Print); 1550-2783 (Online), BMC, 21(1), 2377178-. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2024.2377178
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/15502783.2024.2377178
dc.identifier.issn1550-2783
dc.identifier.issn1550-2783
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/17798
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherBMC
dc.relation.urihttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15502783.2024.2377178
dc.rights© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectcarbohydrate
dc.subjectnutrition
dc.subjectPeak week
dc.subjectsodium
dc.subjectwater
dc.subjectPeak week
dc.subjectcarbohydrate
dc.subjectnutrition
dc.subjectsodium
dc.subjectwater
dc.subject0606 Physiology
dc.subject1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences
dc.subject1111 Nutrition and Dietetics
dc.subjectSport Sciences
dc.subject3210 Nutrition and dietetics
dc.subject4207 Sports science and exercise
dc.subject.meshAdult
dc.subject.meshAthletes
dc.subject.meshAthletic Performance
dc.subject.meshCompetitive Behavior
dc.subject.meshDietary Carbohydrates
dc.subject.meshFemale
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshSports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
dc.subject.meshSurveys and Questionnaires
dc.subject.meshYoung Adult
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshFemale
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshAdult
dc.subject.meshYoung Adult
dc.subject.meshDietary Carbohydrates
dc.subject.meshSports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
dc.subject.meshAthletes
dc.subject.meshCompetitive Behavior
dc.subject.meshSurveys and Questionnaires
dc.subject.meshAthletic Performance
dc.titleAn Examination of the Associations Between Nutritional Peaking Strategies in Physique Sport and Competitor Characteristics
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id562295
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