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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Comprehensive assessment of the nutritional status of figure skaters in the modern world
Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, St. Petersburg, Russia
Correspondence should be addressed: Anna A. Domozhilova
Dekabristov, 35, St. Petersburg, 190121, Russia; ur.bps.tfagsel@avolihzomod.a
Author contribution: Zadorozhnaya NA — concept of the article, study design, critical revision of the manuscript; Dubkova NV — concept of the article, study design, literature processing, description of the results, article authoring; Domozhilova AA — literature processing, description of the results, article design; Petrochenko DE — conducting the study, literature processing, description of the results.
Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sports and Health (protocol No. 5 of June 21, 2024). All athletes submitted the written informed consent to participate in the study.
Monitoring and studying nutritional status is an important stage in the planning of dietary and metabolic support program for figure skaters. However, currently, there is no comprehensive approach to the assessment of this status that would have factored in the specifics of the given sport. In this regard, this study aimed to update the comprehensive figure skaters nutritional status assessment program. We invited male (n = 13) and female (n = 19) students of the Lesgaft National University, aged 19–20 years, to participate in the study; they all specialize in figure skating. At the first stage, we measured the subjects' anthropometric parameters (body mass index, body fat percentage), clinical indicators (based on the results of the health complaints survey), and speed of dark adaptation. The measurements have shown that the values of body mass index and body fat percentage were normal in all participants for their age. The survey revealed indirect signs of dietary deficiencies, in particular, insufficient amounts of vitamins A, C, P, and B1. To make the nutritional status check more informative, we suggest completing the program with functional testing (general and special standards) involving registration of the dynamics of the respective indicators, and bioelectrical impedance analysis to learn body composition.
Keywords: anthropometry, nutritional status, figure skating, caliperometry, body composition, dark adaptation