Clinical trial NCT03691558: Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Triathlon's Performance
Official title: Effects of Five Weeks of Ketogenic Diet on Long Distance Triathletes Performance
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Ketogenic Dieting
Physical Activity
Keywords: ketogenic diet
triathlon
VO2max
PPO
Lead sponsor: University of Padova
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Universidade Federal de Goias
name: University of Palermo
First posted: 2018-10-01
Enrollment: 16
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 20
Maximum age (years): 40
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: It is single blind, parallel arms study
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: The study aimed to verify the effects of 5 weeks of ketogenic diet (KD) on some performance index in long distance triathletes

Detailed description: 16 well trained male long distance Triathletes participates in the study (30.65 ± 10.77 years of age), with minimum one year of triathlon competition experience and 8-10 hours of training per week. All subjects had a personal interview made by a registered Medical Doctor about the diet intervention prior to the beginning of the study. Moreover participants were educated about the benefits and limitations of the two different dietary treatments and asked to nominate their preference for, or non-acceptance of, each of these interventions. Thus participants also decided liberally if participate for the diet intervention or not. This choice was decided to prevent any type of dropout in the KD group, considering that a free and conscious choices is better for the adherence on a strict diet like ketogenic diet . Investigators were thus able to allocate the athletes to their preferred treatment, while achieving suitable matching of groups based on age, body mass and aerobic power. All the participants were healthy and injured free, and not consuming a low carbs diet prior to the study. The diet macronutrient percentage distribution was the following: for ND the percentages were 25% of TDC (total daily calories), fat were 20% of TDC and carbohydrates represented the 55% of TDC; for KD the percentages were 68% fat, 26% protein and 6% carbohydrate. In the KD very low carbohydrate foods that simulate carbohydrates taste food like croissants, bread and cracked slices made by Le Gamberi Foods (Forlì, Italy), were used for a better compliance to the dietary intervention. Subjects undertaken an anthropometric test and two different cardiopulmonary tests with a professional cycloergometer (MARCA). The anthropometric measures were taken to evaluated body weight. height and body composition . After the body composition analysis subjects underwent to a maximal cardiopulmonary test (GXT) to evaluate the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). The following day subjects performed 60 minutes at 45% of PPO to assess endurance performance at ironman biking race-pace. The day after test session KD group started the KD 5 weeks. The Control Group (S) followed his habitual normo-caloric, balanced diet. The same order and procedures were conducted for testing the subjects post diet intervention. Anthropometric and performance test was conducted in the same order for each subjects and at the same time of the day. Blood ketones were measured each other day to ensure the compliance to KD

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* long distance Triathletes (8-10 hours of training per week), competing in half Ironman or Ironman
* no previous experience of low carbohydrate diet
* more than 3 years of training

Exclusion Criteria:

* recent (less than 6 months) musculoskeletal injuries
* more than 2 months without training in the last 2 years

Primary outcomes:
measure: VO2 at 45% of peak power output
timeFrame: after 5 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: VO2 per Kg/bw
timeFrame: after 5 weeks
measure: VO2max
timeFrame: after 5 weeks
measure: Body composition LBM
timeFrame: after 5 weeks
measure: Body composition FM
timeFrame: after 5 weeks
measure: Body Weight
timeFrame: after 5 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Padova
country: Italy
facility: Nutrition and Exercise Lab, DSB, University of Padova
Study officials:
affiliation: DSB University of Padova
name: Antonio Paoli, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
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