Jack Ray Thomas (II)
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 244
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This study exam ined body weight, dietary intake, and physical activity levels of recent college graduates. A questionnaire was m ailed to random ly selected graduates from eight M id-Am erican Conference universities who com pleted their degrees betw een the years of 1990 and 1994. Participants included 219 form er football players and 173 non-athlete graduates. Com parisons were made among non-athlete graduates and two groups of form er football players: Those who played skilled positions (n=78) and weighed less than 100 kg. and the non-skilled positions (n=141) who weighed more than 100 kg. Change in body weight since graduation did not vary significantly over time but did vary by group. Non-athlete graduates had a mean weight gain of 3.1 ±5.6 kg. Non-skilled position football players had a weight loss of -7.2 ±10.6 kg, which was significantly greater than the skilled position loss of -1.5 ± 9 .6 kg. Energy and nutrient intakes were determ ined via a food frequency questionnaire. The mean energy intake was 2,488 ±9 14 kcal. which was not significantly different among the three groups. Intakes of macro and micronutrients re sim ilar for the three groups. Overall intakes of fat, saturated fat and cholesterol exceeded current dietary recom m endations for health prom otion and disease prevention. Intake of M agnesium was below recom m ended intake level for 74% of study sample, followed by Calcium (59%), Zinc (33%), Vitamin E (27%) and Vitamin A (20%). The Baecke Habitual Physical Activity questionnaire assessed physical activity in work, leisure, and sport. The three different groups did not differ in score for work and leisure indices. However, both non-skilled and skilled football positions reported significantly higher levels of sport physical activity and therefore energy expenditure. This difference suggests a pivotal role for post-graduate organized sports in the explanation of weight change since graduation for football players and non-football players.