Differences of energy intake and energy expenditure of elite Taekwondo players receiving summer vs. winter intensive training

WEI+Ting-ting

【Abstract】Taekwondo originated in the Korean peninsula before 1500. After reports that practicing Taekwondo can promote intellectual and emotional growth and has positive impact on physical health while providing social benefits， its popularity has been on the rise. Despite these advantages， due to the competitive nature of this sport， injuries or even disabilities can result in some players， which in turn could prevent them from engaging in the match with the best of their abilities.

【Key words】Taekwondo； energy balance； energy expenditure； energy intake； sports nutrition

An annual training for Taekwondo players consists of the preparation， competition， and transitional periods. The competition stage requires a special program during the preparation period that helps with the players cell adaptation and maintenance of healthy muscular and nervous systems， so that their highest performance can be exhibited during the competition games. Thus， during this particular period， it is advised that athletes receive comprehensive management and protection that covers physical， technical， tactical， and mental aspects. However， the typical professional taekwondo players， who are mostly students， usually practice challenging and repetitive routines that include exercise， stay-in-camp training， and combat， which obviously affect their performance in the competition games.

Particularly， intensive camp training during hot or cold weather could impose both physical and mental stress on players. During the summer training， the amount of metabolic heat exceeds heat loss and dehydration may either be a direct or indirect factor for heat illness ranging from muscle cramps to life-threatening hyperthermia. On the other hand， winter training environment contribute to hypothermia， frostbite， and diminished exercise capability and performance. Some studies reported that stress caused energy imbalance which may influence stress-induced physiological and psychological responses. Thereby， the energy imbalance and hot or cold weather training environment were attributed to the stressors for elite players.

Appropriate energy balance is an important goal for athletes， particularly during intensive training. In addition， maintaining energy balance along with adequate nutrient intake optimizes sports performance and overall health. According to studies， it is believed that people who do not have professional athlete career can increase their physical capacity through summer training rather than winter training activities， because there are less temptations of food because appetite tends to be lower in hot weather and media devices can be used for the purpose of entertainment during the training. However， it is still not clear whether that theory also applies to professional athletes， and more importantly， whether a summer or winter environment is more suitable for maximizing the effectiveness of training for players who receive training at a camp. Therefore， this study sets the conditions for both the summer and winter intensive training groups of Taekwondo athletes to undergo the same exercise program， and their level of activities and consumption of calories were analyzed in order to find the energy balance condition that can maximize the effectiveness of the training of Taekwondo players.

The current study was conducted to evaluate energy intake and training in elite Taekwondo players. Among the many powerful variables associated with nutrient intake， fluid intake was not included in the current study because the Can-pro program cannot analyze the water contents of food. In addition， due to the lack of existing data， it was impossible to directly compare data from the present study with other studies of Taekwondo players. Thus， another limitation of the present study is that the comparisons were made with athletes of other sports. Therefore， more studies on the nutrient intake of Taekwondo players are needed to provide more comprehensive data to ultimately promote optimal health and performance in Taekwondo players.

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