Body Composition, Growth, and Maturation of Triathletes

Association of Body Composition, Growth, and Maturation Status With Physical Activity and Adherence With Mediterranean Diet in Youth Triathletes

The goal of this observational study is to determine if physical activity and the adherence to a Mediterranean diet have a relationship with body composition, growth, and maturation status in youth triathletes. The main question it aims to answer is:

• Is body composition (fat and muscle) determined primarily by growth and biological maturation or by physical activity and the Mediterranean diet in youth triathletes? Participants already have been evaluated in body composition, mediterranean diet adherence and practical of physical activity during 3 years.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Body Weight Changes; Diet Habit
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mediterranean Diet; Other: Physical activity

Detailed Description

Triathlon is an individual, multidisciplinary and resistance sport with three stages: swimming, cycling and running, linked by two transitions. The importance of knowing body composition, eating patterns, level of physical activity and maturational state, will allow influence on training, increasing sports performance.

Regarding body composition and its relationship with performance, it has been observed that the greater the body fat, the lower the physical performance of triathletes. In each sport, athletes have different composition somatotypes. For triathlon, it is difficult to establish a specific somatotype, since it is a modality that encompasses three sports, among which the anthropometric characteristics of the athletes who practice them are not similar. In addition, since it is a relatively new category, there are not enough bibliographical references regarding anthropometry and body composition.

During biological maturation, there is an increase in the basal metabolic rate, so an optimal diet helps the growth process and improves the performance and recovery of athletes. Therefore, in the early stages of childhood and adolescence, adherence to the diet plays an important role in the acquisition of healthy lifestyles to determine an optimal state of health. The Mediterranean Diet model is associated with healthy eating habits, high levels of quality of life and physical benefits.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Alicante
    • San Vicente Del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain, 30690
      • Recruiting
      • Faculty of Health Sciences. University of Alicante.
      • Contact: Manuel Fernández Alcántar, Dr.; Phone Number: 2236 +34965903400; Email: mfernandeza@ua.es

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Young triathletes belonging to the ADESAVI triathlon club from the city of San Vicente del Raspeig (Spain)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Acceptation of informed consent by parents

Exclusion Criteria:

• No attendance to body composition evaluation
• Reporting less than 80% of assistance to physical activity sessions reported by trainer

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Male; Young male triathletes	Other: Mediterranean Diet; Mediterranean diet adherence; Other: Physical activity; Physical activity level
Female; Young female triathletes	Other: Mediterranean Diet; Mediterranean diet adherence; Other: Physical activity; Physical activity level

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Body Composition	Change in body composition (fat mass and muscle mass) by anthropometric evaluation	5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical Activity Level	Low, moderate or high	5 years
Mediterranean Diet Adherence	Low, moderate or high	5 years
Biological Maturation Status	early, average or late maturers	5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alicante

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Mirwald RL, Baxter-Jones AD, Bailey DA, Beunen GP. An assessment of maturity from anthropometric measurements. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Apr;34(4):689-94. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200204000-00020.
• Romero-Garcia D, Esparza-Ros F, Pico Garcia M, Martinez-Sanz JM, Vaquero-Cristobal R. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet, kinanthropometric characteristics and physical performance of young male handball players. PeerJ. 2022 Dec 1;10:e14329. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14329. eCollection 2022.
• Albaladejo-Saura M, Vaquero-Cristobal R, Garcia-Roca JA, Esparza-Ros F. Influence of biological maturation status on selected anthropometric and physical fitness variables in adolescent male volleyball players. PeerJ. 2022 Apr 5;10:e13216. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13216. eCollection 2022.
• Albaladejo-Saura M, Vaquero-Cristobal R, Gonzalez-Galvez N, Esparza-Ros F. Relationship between Biological Maturation, Physical Fitness, and Kinanthropometric Variables of Young Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 5;18(1):328. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010328.
• Moran J, Sandercock G, Rumpf MC, Parry DA. Variation in Responses to Sprint Training in Male Youth Athletes: A Meta-analysis. Int J Sports Med. 2017 Jan;38(1):1-11. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-111439. Epub 2016 Oct 28.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 30, 2021
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 30, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 30, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 2, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 5, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 1, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight; Body Weight Changes
• Other Study ID Numbers: UA-2021-11-17

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The data are available from the authors on request from the IP JMMS (josemiguel.ms@ua.es).

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No