Dietary Intake of World Record Holders in Oldest Master Athletics in Japan

Abstract

Japanese athletes have made a spectacular showing in masters sports in recent years. The present study aimed to clarify the dietary intakes of the oldest Japanese world record holders of master sports. The subjects were the oldest Japanese male world M 100 record holder for the 100-m sprint (102 years old) and the oldest Japanese female world W95 record holder for swimming (98 years old) . We measured their height, weight and percentage body fat. Furthermore, we examined their dietary intake by the weighing method and calculated their daily nutrient intake, food consumption and nutrient density using the nutritional calculation software Excel Eiyoukun version 6.0 (Kenpakusha, Tokyo, Japan) . The daily energy intake of the male athlete was 1,432 kcal, and that of the female athlete was 1,691 kcal. Protein intake in the male athlete was 48.4 g (1.12 g/kg body weight) , and that in the female athlete was 75.8 g (1.63 g/kg body weight) . The nutrient intakes in the male athlete were lower than those for younger old-olds, but were higher than those for non-athletes of the same age. The nutrients except for vitamin B₁₂ intake in the female athlete were lower than for older elderly elite athletes, but the intakes of many nutrients by the female athlete were higher than those revealed in the Nutrition Examination Survey of people aged 75 years and older.