Abigail Peairs

Body composition plays a key role in overall health and sports performance and its assessment is an important part of many athletic programs. The purpose of this study was to describe longitudinal changes in body composition for collegiate female soccer players in order to provide data to inform future training and nutrition interventions for this population. A linear mixed-model (LMM) approach was used to analyze four years of pre- and post-season body composition data, including total mass, fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass, and body fat percentage (%BF) for 49 athletes. Athletes gained an average of 0.5 kg FFM during the season (p < 0.05) and increased total mass, FFM, fat mass, and %BF (2.5 kg, 1.1 kg, 1.7 kg, and 1.7%, respectively; p < 0.05) over four years. Freshmen experienced a 1.5 kg gain in total mass pre- to post-season (p < 0.05), while no changes in total mass or body composition were seen in other grade levels. Gains in %BF during the off season between Freshman and Sophomore years represented negative changes in body composition that should be addressed further. These results can help interdisciplinary athlete care teams optimize training programs in this population by understanding what changes are expected over multiple years. Normalizing these changes may also help the promotion of realistic body composition goals and the development of positive training and dietary habits.

Glucose variability (GV) independently increases risk for vascular events in patients with diabetes. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low fat dairy and has the potential to reduce postprandial blood glucose (BG) excursions, however, its effect on GV is not known. The purpose of this work was to assess feasibility and collect preliminary data on the efficacy of the DASH diet on GV in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Twenty one adolescents recruited from the Diabetes Center of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with T1D (11-17y) participated in one of two phases of a controlled feeding study. The first phase tested the acceptability and blood glucose response to a traditional DASH diet (DASH) and the second phase tested a DASH diet specifically modified for diabetes (DASH-D) to improve glucose response to meals. For each phase, participants consumed first their usual diet, and then a controlled DASH diet while wearing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for 3 days of each diet. All foods were provided to the patients during the DASH dietary periods and 24 h dietary recalls were conducted during the usual diet periods to assess daily intake. Sixteen participants (14.1 +/- 2.2y) were included in final analyses (DASH n=7, DASH-D n=9). Both DASH diets were significantly higher in fruits, vegetables, fiber, vitamin A, and % energy from protein than usual intakes. DASH was higher in carbohydrate (CHO) (60 vs. 50%) and lower in fat (21 vs. 36%) than usual intake, resulting in higher GV (Standard Deviation and Lability Index) and more low BG excursions (3 ± 2.8 vs. 7.1 ± 3.3, p=0.024). DASH-D was modified to better match CHO and fat content of patients' usual intakes in phase 1 (50/30/20 for CHO/fat/pro respectively, which resulted in no difference in GV between DASH-D and usual intake. There were also trends for lower average BG (144.1 vs. 168.9, p=0.072) and less percentage of time spent in the hyperglycemic range (39.3 ± 25.5 vs. 54.1 ± 19.4, p=0.07) on DASH-D compared to usual intake. The DASH dietary pattern tended to result in less hyperglycemia and an overall lower BG compared to usual care. Modifying a traditional DASH diet by increasing heart healthy fats improves glycemic response to DASH and may be beneficial for long term cardiovascular benefits in youth with T1D.