Body Composition and Lifestyles in Athletes With Disabilities
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Diet, body composition, Physical activity, health status.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Diet Habits, Body Composition, Athlete Assessment, Sport Nutrition. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Spain
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Anthropometric, Dietary, Exercise, and Supplementation Profile in Athletes With Disabilities (PADES)
Overview
Disability involves limitations that affect mobility and the ability to perform daily activities and achieve competitive goals. It is expected that disability has a significant impact on body composition, including reductions in lean mass and bone mineral content, and increases in fat mass and its distribution. Additionally, the assessment of food and dietary supplement intake among athletes with disabilities remains poorly described, despite its relevance in both sports and health contexts due to the potential benefits of individualized nutritional strategies. This research project, entitled Anthropometric, Dietary, Exercise, and Supplementation Profile in Athletes with Disabilities (PADES), aims to describe the anthropometric characteristics, physical exercise practices, and food and supplement intake in Spanish athletes with disabilities. The study seeks to address the current lack of standardized anthropometric data and the limited information on dietary and supplementation patterns in this population, which hinders a comprehensive understanding of the physiological, nutritional, and biomechanical aspects essential for their health and athletic performance. A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study will be conducted in Spanish athletes with disabilities recruited through the Spanish Federation of Sports for People with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF), the Spanish Federation of Sports for the Blind (FEDC), and the Spanish Federation of Sports for the Deaf (FEDS).
Detailed description
The field of disability, there is a notable lack of standardized data on anthropometric measurements, physical activity practices, and food and/or supplement intake among athletes with disabilities. This gap limits our understanding of key physiological, nutritional, and biomechanical aspects of this population, making it difficult to generate evidence-based knowledge applicable to their health, athletic performance, and overall well-being. In the absence of specific data, designing personalized and effective nutrition or training programs becomes more challenging and imprecise.
The diversity in types of disabilities, functional classifications, and levels of physical activity demands an evidence-based approach to ensure that interventions are safe, effective, and tailored to the individual needs of athletes. Anthropometric assessment, dietary and supplement intake evaluation, as well as physical activity practices are measurable factors related to the nutritional health status of athletes with disabilities, directly influencing their physical performance and contributing to safer and more effective sports participation.
Establishing reference tables or consumption patterns will allow for comparisons between different types of disabilities and/or functional classes. These comparisons are essential to identify trends and develop targeted intervention strategies that benefit the broader population of athletes with disabilities.
Interventions
- Other Diet
frequency of food and supplement consumption - Other body composition
body composition assessment - Other Physical activity
Physical activity level - Other health status
perception of health status
Primary outcome measures
- Body Mass [Time frame: 4 years]
- Linear Dimensions (Stature, Girths, Lengths and Breadths) [Time frame: 4 years]
- Skinfolds [Time frame: 4 years]
- Body Composition Variables [Time frame: 4 years]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Dietary intake assessed using the Food4Me FFQ [Time frame: 4 years]
- Supplement consumption assessed using the Sports Supplement Intake Questionnaire [Time frame: 4 years]
- Physical Activity Level assessed using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) [Time frame: 4 years]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Acceptation of informed consent
- Have a federation license and at least two years of experience practicing the sport in which they will be classified.
- Follow a training program with a minimum frequency of three days per week.
- Have maintained training continuity for at least one month without absences.
- Any type of disability.
Exclusion criteria
- No attendance to the evaluations
- Reporting less than 80% of assistance to physical activity sessions reported by trainer
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Spain · 1 center
- Faculty of Health Sciences. University of Alicante — San Vicent del Raspeig
Publications
- Flueck JL. Body Composition in Swiss Elite Wheelchair Athletes. Front Nutr. 2020 Jan 22;7:1. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00001. eCollection 2020. PMID 32039228
- Cavedon V, Zancanaro C, Milanese C. Body composition assessment in athletes with physical impairment who have been practicing a wheelchair sport regularly and for a prolonged period. Disabil Health J. 2020 Oct;13(4):100933. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.100933. Epub 2020 Apr 22. PMID 32402793
- Bernardi M, Guerra E, Di Giacinto B, Di Cesare A, Castellano V, Bhambhani Y. Field evaluation of paralympic athletes in selected sports: implications for training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jun;42(6):1200-8. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181c67d82. PMID 19997027
- Capling L, Beck KL, Gifford JA, Slater G, Flood VM, O'Connor H. Validity of Dietary Assessment in Athletes: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017 Dec 2;9(12):1313. doi: 10.3390/nu9121313. PMID 29207495
- Serafini S, Charrier D, Izzicupo P, Esparza-Ros F, Vaquero-Cristobal R, Petri C, Mecherques-Carini M, Baglietto N, Holway F, Tinsley G, Paoli A, Campa F. Anthropometric-based predictive equations developed with multi-component models for estimating body composition in athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2025 Mar;125(3):595-610. doi: 10.1007/s00421-024-05672-3. Epub 2024 Dec 6. PMID 39641837
- Lachat C, Hawwash D, Ocke MC, Berg C, Forsum E, Hornell A, Larsson C, Sonestedt E, Wirfalt E, Akesson A, Kolsteren P, Byrnes G, De Keyzer W, Van Camp J, Cade JE, Slimani N, Cevallos M, Egger M, Huybrechts I. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Nutritional Epidemiology (STROBE-nut): An Extension of the STROBE Statement. PLoS Med. 2016 Jun 7;13(6):e1002036. doi: 10.1 PMID 27270749
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07464899 · UA-2025-02-14