Body Composition and Lifestyles in Athletes With Disabilities

NCT07464899 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UA-2025-02-14
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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).

Conditions

Diet Habits; Body Composition; Athlete Assessment; Sport Nutrition

Keywords

sport nutrition; questionnaries; athletes; dietary-nutritional assessment; body composition; disability

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Body Mass

  Measure: body mass. Unit of Measure: kilograms (kg). Description: measured using a SECA 862 scale or SECA 676 wheelchair scale according to the ISAK protocol.

  4 years

• Linear Dimensions (Stature, Girths, Lengths and Breadths)

  Measures: stretch stature, sitting height, arm span, girths, lengths and breadths. Unit of Measure: centimeters (cm). Description: stretch stature and sitting height will be measured using a SECA 217 stadiometer; arm span will be measured using a Smartmet arm-span device; girths will be measured using an inextensible Smartmet metal tape; breadths will be measured using a Holtain small sliding caliper and a Realmet large sliding caliper; and lengths will be determined using a Smartmet segmometer according to the ISAK protocol.

  4 years

• Skinfolds

  Measure: skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, biceps, iliac crest, supraspinale, abdominal, thigh and calf). Unit of Measure: millimeters (mm). Description: measured with a Holtain skinfold caliper following the ISAK protocol.

  4 years

• Body Composition Variables

  Measures: fat mass, fat-free mass, adipose mass, muscle mass, and bone mass. Unit of Measure: kilograms (kg). Description: fat mass will be estimated using the Katch-McArdle (1973) equation, based on body mass and selected skinfolds; fat-free mass will be estimated as the difference between body mass and fat mass; adipose mass will be estimated using the Kerr (1991) equation, based on stretch stature and selected skinfolds; muscle mass will be estimated using the Lee (2000) equation, based on stretch stature and corrected girths; and bone mass will be estimated using the Rocha (1974) equation, based on stretch stature and selected breadths.

  4 years

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Dietary intake assessed using the Food4Me FFQ

  4 years

• Supplement consumption assessed using the Sports Supplement Intake Questionnaire

  4 years

• Physical Activity Level assessed using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF)

  4 years

Study Arms (2)

Male

adult male athletes with disabilities

Other: Diet; Other: body composition; Other: Physical activity; Other: health status

Female

adult female athletes with disabilities

Other: Diet; Other: body composition; Other: Physical activity; Other: health status

Interventions

Diet OTHER

frequency of food and supplement consumption

Female; Male

body composition OTHER

body composition assessment

Female; Male

Physical activity OTHER

Physical activity level

Female; Male

health status OTHER

perception of health status

Female; Male

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Athletes with disabilities from the different sports disciplines that belong to 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).

You may qualify if:

• 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.

You may not qualify if:

• No attendance to the evaluations
• Reporting less than 80% of assistance to physical activity sessions reported by trainer

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Alicante: lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Health Sciences. University of Alicante

San Vicent del Raspeig, Alicante, 03690, Spain

RECRUITING

Related Publications (6)

• 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 BACKGROUND

• 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 BACKGROUND

• 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 BACKGROUND

• 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 BACKGROUND

• 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 BACKGROUND

• 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: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002036. eCollection 2016 Jun.

  PMID: 27270749 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding Behavior

Interventions

Diet; Body Composition; Exercise; Health Status

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Biochemical Phenomena; Chemical Phenomena; Metabolism; Body Constitution; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Demography; Population Characteristics; Epidemiologic Measurements; Public Health; Environment and Public Health

Central Study Contacts

Jose Miguel Martinez Sanz, Dr

CONTACT

+34 620420726; josemiguel.ms@ua.es

David Romero García, Dr

CONTACT

david.romero@ua.es

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor. Director of the Research Group on Applied Dietetics, Nutrition and Body Composition. Nursing Department. Faculty of Health Sciences. University of Alicante

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 5, 2025
• First Posted: March 11, 2026
• Study Start: February 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 23, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2030
• Last Updated: March 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)