Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 4:40:e2020350.
doi: 10.1590/1984-0462/2022/40/2020350. eCollection 2021.

Anemia and nutritional aspects in adolescent athletes: a cross-sectional study in a reference sport organization

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Flávio Diniz Capanema  1 , Joel Alves Lamounier  2 , José Geraldo Leite Ribeiro  1 , Cláudio Olívio Vilela Lima  3 , Alan Rodrigues de Almeida Paiva  1 , Patrícia Ribeiro Quadros  1 , Nádia Sachie Koyama Ferreira  1 , Tatiane Soares de Almeida  1 , Nicolly Carla Machado Santos  1
Affiliations

Anemia and nutritional aspects in adolescent athletes: a cross-sectional study in a reference sport organization

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Flávio Diniz Capanema et al. Rev Paul Pediatr. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Objective: To assess the association between anemia and nutritional aspects in adolescent athletes from a large sport club.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, involving 298 athletes aged between 10 and 17 years, submitted to measurement of skin folds, weight and height, and collection of capillary blood in duplicate to determine hemoglobin values. It was carried out in a random sample composed of athletes from eight sport modalities.

Results: Regarding nutritional status, 10.1% of athletes were overweight based on body mass index and 70 (23.5%) athletes had a percentage of body fat classified as high or very high. The prevalence of anemia was 16.4%, being more prevalent in judo (37.1%), basketball (34%) and futsal (20.5%) athletes. Low hemoglobin levels were significantly associated with shorter stature (p=0.006).

Conclusions: There was a significant association between anemia and short stature, suggesting that the athlete's height-weight development may be affected in suboptimal conditions of oxygen distribution.

Objetivo:: Avaliar a associação entre anemia e aspectos nutricionais em atletas adolescentes de um clube desportivo de grande porte.

Métodos:: Trata-se de estudo de corte transversal que envolveu 298 atletas com idades entre 10 e 17 anos, submetidos à aferição de dobras cutâneas, peso e altura, além de coleta de sangue capilar em duplicata para a determinação dos valores de hemoglobina. Foi realizado em amostra aleatória composta de atletas oriundos de oito modalidades esportivas.

Resultados:: Em relação ao estado nutricional, 10,1% dos atletas apresentaram excesso de peso com base no índice de massa corpórea e 70 (23,5%) atletas estavam com porcentagem de gordura corporal classificada como alta ou muito alta. A prevalência de anemia foi de 16,4%, mais prevalente nos atletas do judô (37,1%), basquete (34%) e futsal (20,5%). Níveis baixos de hemoglobina foram associados à menor estatura (p=0,006).

Conclusões:: Observou-se associação significativa entre anemia e baixa estatura, o que sugere que o desenvolvimento pôndero-estatural do atleta pode ser afetado em condições subótimas de distribuição de oxigênio.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interests

The authors declare there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Graph 1
Graph 1. Distribution of athletes per body fat.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization . Value adolescents invest in the future. Philippines: WHO; 2005. Adolescent health and development: a WHO regional framework 2001-2004.
    1. Lourenço AM, Taquette SR, Hasselmann MH. Nutrition assessment: nutritional anthropometry and conduct in adolescence. Adolesc Saude. 2011;8:51–58.
    1. Steinberger J, Daniels SR, Eckel RH, Hayman L, Lustig RH, McCrindle B, et al. Progress and challenges in metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Atherosclerosis, Hypertension, and Obesity in the Young Committee of the Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism. Circulation. 2009;119:628–647. doi: 10.1161/circulationaha.108.191394. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brazil - Ministério da Saúde . Anemia. Brasília (DF): Ministério da Saúde; 2004.
    1. Pereira FF, Santos MR, Gomes FL, Barbosa FR, Pereira DE. Influência da deficiência de ferro na prática de exercícios aeróbios por atletas e desportistas: uma revisão da literatura. IJN. 2018;11:467–467. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1674764. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources