Running The Numbers

Diet: Elites vs. the Average Canadian

Meal choices confound us every day. Did I eat enough vegetables and fruits? Am I getting enough fibre? Should I eat a second helping at dinner because I ran for two hours? Does lifting weights mean I have to eat a 10 oz. steak every day? Since I am not a nutrition expert, and because every person has different intake requirements, I cannot tell you what you should (or should not) be eating.

But I do consider myself qualified to analyze larger dietary trends. Let’s focus on the total changes in calorie content and fat, protein, and carb consumption for people of variable activity levels. Let’s also look how calories are distributed at specific mealtimes.

There two kinds of Canadians for which comparable macronutrient information exists: defined here as “normal people” and “elites.” The first represents average Canadians who exercise somewhere between zero and 90 minutes per week. Elites, by contrast, represent a level that few expect to reach themselves. I should point out those who exercise moderately, but more than the Canadian average, best match the core demographic of this magazine. Sadly, this is a group for which I don’t have detailed consumption data.

Since elites – by definition – exercise more than everyone else, what might they have in common with normal people? I used the Statistics Canada Community Health Survey for the general population data. For elites I obtained a research paper that collected the eating habits over 300 mature athletes from a wide range of sports like kayaking, karate, swimming and, of course, distance running. These athletes, mostly in their 20s, trained at least five hours per day. To make things more comparable, I focused exclusively on “young” Canadians, aged 19–39.

Let us look at total calorie consumption between the two groups. The number of calories is close, both male and female, between groups that exercise every day and hardly ever. Elite men consume about 3,000 calories versus 2,700 for sedentary men. A difference of 500 calories is found for women. Since these are averages we expect significant variance for given individuals. Also, since both sets of data are self-reported, they suffer from underestimates (people don’t like to admit the truth of what they eat.). In fact, the United Nations estimates Canadians consume 3,500 calories a day. Meanwhile some professional cyclists double this intake at 7,000+, while runners rarely eat more than 4,000.

With these caveats in mind, it is surprising that both groups consume similar quantities of food. Since conditioned athletes weigh less (the average Canadian is overweight), Elites do eat far more food per kilogram of bodyweight. I noticed after morning runs I eat only slightly more than a rest day. And large volumes of training can actually interrupt opportunities to eat (running on a full stomach is not ideal). To explain this balance too, recall that sedentary people burn a lot of energy concentrating hard on other tasks.

Now, what about relative differences i n terms of fat, protein and carbohydrates?

An elite meal is not only of a similar size as a normal person’s, but it also contains the same basic elements. For instance, about half of everyone’s calories come from carbs. With elite athletes, comparably less energ y comes from fat and more from protein, the result of leaner foods. But don’t be deceived that meals are identical; it also turns out less than half the general population (44 per cent) eat the recommended amount of fr uit and veg servings per day. Meanwhile most elites are eating much more greens and whole foods. In fact, elites over-consume vitamins and minerals (between two to six times the recommended daily dosage) due to their predilection for supplements. Next, how do elites differ in terms of relative size of daily meals and snacks? Again we see divisions in both groups. Each obtain one quarter of their energy from snacks. But content matters. Twenty-five percent of all food consumed by the general population might be considered junk (such as chips, sugary soft drinks and beer), whereas elites will snack on healthier foods. The average normal Canadian also eats relatively less in the morning and more at dinner. In fact, one in five young Canadians skip breakfast entirely. Meanwhile, elites distribute their eating more evenly throughout the day.

What can you learn from all of this? That the average Canadian eats almost as many calories and macronutrients as a high-performance athlete. Both groups also eat similar quantities throughout the day, although skipping breakfast can rapidly skew this balance. Quality of food, however, suffers immensely in most adults, so eating more greens never hurts. Elite athletes are distinguished more by their training than from any special diet. Eat a variety of food throughout the day, but keep in mind the rapidly diminishing returns. As obvious as it sounds, nothing improves your fitness like exercise.