Nutrient intake of women runners and nonrunners

The nutrient intakes of women who ran at different levels of intensity and the relationship between nutrient intake and ovulatory disturbances were studied. Ninety-five women, including sedentary non-runners (n = 16), low-level runners (n = 27), medium-level runners (n = 29), and high-level runners (n = 23), completed data for a 3-day nutritional assessment. The high-level runners met the Food and Nutrition Board's Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) for all 17 nutrients examined, with the exception of calcium. The other groups of women failed to meet RDAs for iron, carbohydrate, and fiber. In general, the women in the study reported healthier diets than did women in a general national survey of nutrient intake conducted in 1985. Eighty-two of the women reported luteinizing hormone level data that were accurate enough to indicate ovulatory functioning; of these women, 30 had ovulatory disturbances. There was no relationship between ovulatory disturbance and nutrient intake; however, 5 amenorrheic women reported a significantly lower nutrient density intake of fat and higher intake of carbohydrate, fiber, and vitamin A than did the nonamenorrheic women.