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Published on: July 5, 2017
Carbohydrate ingestion during endurance exercise improves performance in adults
John Temesi1, Nathan A Johnson, Jacqueline Raymond
1Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney 1825, Australia.
Consuming carbohydrates (CHO) between 30-80 g/h significantly improves endurance exercise performance in adults. This meta-analysis confirms CHO
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Sports Nutrition
Background:
- Endurance exercise performance is crucial for athletes and active individuals.
- Optimizing fuel availability during prolonged exercise is a key strategy for enhancing performance.
- Carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion is a widely studied ergogenic aid.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze the efficacy of carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion versus placebo (PLA) on adult endurance exercise performance.
- To quantify the performance benefits of CHO ingestion within specific dosage ranges and exercise durations.
- To identify factors that may influence the effectiveness of CHO supplementation.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trials.
- Inclusion criteria: CHO ingestion (30-80 g/h, ≤8% concentration) during exercise ≥1 hour, evaluated by time trial (TT) or time to exhaustion (TTE).
- Pooled effect sizes (ES) and weighted mean improvements in performance were calculated.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in TT performance (ES = 0.30, 7.5% improvement) and exercise time to exhaustion (TTE) (ES = 0.47, 15.1% improvement) with CHO ingestion.
- Submaximal exercise followed by TT also showed significant benefits (ES = 0.53, 2.0% improvement).
- Subanalyses indicated consistent benefits across male, trained participants, and specific exercise durations.
Conclusions:
- Ingestion of 30-80 g/h of carbohydrates effectively enhances endurance exercise performance in adults.
- CHO supplementation provides significant ergogenic benefits for both time trial and time to exhaustion protocols.
- The findings support current sports nutrition guidelines recommending CHO intake during prolonged exercise.
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