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Adequate hydration is critical for optimal performance and health. Fluid requirements of collegiate athletes are unique due to training and competition, travel, school schedules, and stressors common in college environments. Inattention to these factors may contribute to suboptimal hydration. Importantly, loss of 1-2% of body weight by dehydration can impair physical and cognitive performance. As such, development of valid and reliable tools to assess hydration status in collegiate athletes is needed. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of urine color (UC) as a measure of hydration status in collegiate athletes. A secondary purpose was to evaluate the utility of indexes of hydration status for UC and urine specific gravity (USG) established by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA). To address this, 62 NCAA Division I collegiate athletes provided a urine sample ≤30 minutes of exercise for UC self-assessment (UCsub) and experimenter-assessment (UCres) using the UC chart developed by Armstrong et al. (1994) and for USG measurement via refractometry (1). Habitual dietary intake was assessed by 24-hr recalls. There was a significant positive correlation between USG and both UCsub (r=0.679, p<0.001) and UCres (r=0.772, p<0.001). In addition, the USG based on UC was inconsistent with hydration/dehydration categories established by ACSM and NATA. These findings suggest that UC, even when self-assessed by the athlete, is a valid method for assessing hydration status in NCAA division I college athletes. However, some modification of ACSM and NATA hydration categories may be warranted. 1. Armstrong LE, Maresh CM, Castellani JW, et al. Urinary indices of hydration status. Int J Sport Nutr. 1994;4(3):265-279. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7987361. Accessed October 26, 2016. / Master of Science

Background: Training, travel, and competition can make an athlete's fluid needs different from the general population. As such, there is a need for an acceptable tool to determine the unique beverage intake habits of athletes. The BEVQ-15 is one such tool to determine beverage intake over time but has not yet been confirmed for accuracy in college athletes. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of the beverage questionnaire (BEVQ-15) for measuring fluid intake in collegiate NCAA athletes. Design: Athletes were recruited from two NCAA Division I universities. The individuals in this study (n=61) completed two short BEVQ-15 surveys plus three dietary recall interviews administered by trained diet technicians to compare the surveys against. The two surveys were administered at least three days apart and the 24-hour dietary recalls included two weekdays and one weekend day. Results: This study included 61 athletes at the conclusion. Comparing the BEVQ-15 to the 24-hour recall standard, Spearman's rho correlation tests found that 7 of the 15 categories are significant at P≤0.01 when comparing fluid ounces, while 5 of the 14 categories are significant at P≤0.01 when comparing kcal consumed. An additional 3 categories for both ounces and kcal consumed are significant at P≤0.05. With these findings, validity criteria are met. Fruit juice, sweetened fruit juice, low fat milk, diet soft drinks, sweetened tea or coffee, and hard liquor are not strongly correlated between testing methods in the collegiate athlete population. Pearson correlations demonstrated significant reliability comparing BEVQ-15 responses of test one and two for all but one category for ounces consumed and three for calories consumed at P≤0.01. The results of Bland-Altman suggested acceptable limits of agreement between the two measures. Follow up linear regression models indicated no proportional bias. Conclusions: The BEVQ-15 is a valid tool for the assessment of beverage intake in an NCAA Division I athlete population. As such, the BEVQ-15 may be a useful tool for assessing beverage intake and patterns in collegiate athletes. / MS / How hydrated an athlete is can play a major role in their physical performance and overall health1. Athletes may have unique fluid needs that depend, at least in part, on the timing, volume, and type of beverage consumed and the needs required by their training and competition specific to their given sport. Training, travel, and competition can make an athlete’s fluid needs different from the general population. As such there is a need for an acceptable tool to determine the beverage intake habits of athletes. This makes a short survey asking about drink consumption desirable for this population. The BEVQ-15 fits this description but has not yet been confirmed for accuracy in college athletes. Therefore the purpose of this study is to prove the accuracy of using drink survey (BEVQ-15) in measuring beverage intake in collegiate NCAA athletes. To do so, this study will look at results from 61 NCAA collegiate athletes recruited from Virginia Tech and Radford Universities. The participants completed two short BEVQ-15 surveys as well as three dietary recall interviews to compare the surveys against. The BEVQ-15 surveys were repeated on two occasions and found to be reliable. The beverage (and food) intake from the recalls was analyzed using dietary analysis software, compared to the data obtained by the BEVQ-15, and found to be a valid tool to assess beverage intake patterns among NCAA Division I collegiate athletes.

Understanding the physiological and behavioural reasons that result in voluntary water intake and the volume subsequently consumed in both the work place and during and following an exercise setting can provide further information on water balance and the necessity and requirements of water intake. The first study (Chapter 3) aimed to assess hydration status in the adult population at the start and end of a working day and the amount of water from beverages that was consumed. Urine osmolality and urine specific gravity (USG) suggested a large proportion of subjects arrived (osmolality: 54%; USG: 53%) and left (osmolality: 35%; USG: 33%) work in a hypohydrated state, with variation between subjects in the same and different places of work. Reported water intake varied between groups with males consuming more than females. To further examine hydration status it was proposed to assess the use of capillary blood sampling as an alternative to more restrictive venous blood sampling (Chapter 4), however, despite tracking changes in blood parameters in a similar capacity, the inconsistencies of results suggested capillary blood sampling could not be used reliably. The remaining chapters in the thesis examined voluntary water intake. In Chapter 5 this was during and following exercise in the cold. Less water was consumed compared to exercise in a warm environment and there was an indication of a blunted thirst response in the cold. Following high intensity intermittent exercise, more water was voluntarily consumed during a one hour recovery period compared to when continuous exercise of the same average power output was performed (Chapter 6). Following exercise there was increased serum osmolality, serum sodium concentration, plasma vasopressin concentration and blood lactate concentration compared to baseline values. The relative contribution that decreasing blood lactate concentrations and water intake during the recovery period had on serum osmolality could not be determined, so the study in Chapter 7 was carried out. The time period during which voluntary water intake was allowed was manipulated during a recovery period following a period of high intensity intermittent exercise. Allowing water intake for the full hour, the final 30 minutes or not at all, resulted in similar decreases in serum osmolality throughout the duration of the recovery period. A combination of finishing the period of exercise allowing plasma volume restoration, reduction in blood lactate concentration, reduction in serum sodium concentration, a restoration of blood lactate concentration and water intake appeared to contribute to decreased serum osmolality. Sensations of thirst were the main stimulants of voluntary water intake (Chapters 3, 5, 6 and 7), however, following exercise, sensations of thirst resulted in water consumption despite the majority of subjects not losing enough water (>2% body mass loss) to require additional rehydration. In this thesis, it can be concluded that voluntary water intake differs between individuals, between work environments, during and following exercise in different environments and following different exercise intensities. Water intake is generally initiated by sensations of thirst arising from physiological and behavioural mechanisms even in the absence of significant hypohydration and will reduce once satiated.

Objectives. This study aimed to provide data on water intake from food and beverages of free-living adults in their natural environment, and investigate how this is affected by physiological, psychological, social and environmental factors. A further aim was to monitor the hydration status of free-living adults and relate this data to water intake. Methods The consumption of all food and beverages was recorded in a diary over three consecutive days by 80 healthy adults (40 males, 40 females), aged 18 to 65 years, who were instructed to continue their normal eating and drinking habits and lifestyles throughout the study. The data was analysed to determine total daily water intake and how this was affected by time of day, day of the week, presence of others, location of consumption, age and subjects mood. A further 20 healthy subjects (10 males, 10 females) repeated these procedures but also had blood samples taken for monitoring of blood indices (haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, sodium concentration, and potassium concentration) and provided urine samples for the measurement of urine indices (volume, colour, specific gravity, osmolality and sodium, potassium, chloride, and creatinine concentrations). Results The total volume of water consumed by the 80 subjects was 2229  882 ml/day (mean  standard deviation). Females tended to consume more water than males (2402  827 ml/day vs 2056  911 ml/day, P = 0.079). Similar volumes were consumed by the additional 20 subjects in the hydration status study. Females appeared euhydrated; males appeared mild dehydrated, having a higher morning and 24-hour urine specific gravity and osmolality than females (P < 0.05, respectively). Conclusions The mean daily total volume of water consumed by females in this study was greater than the adequate intake value set by the European Food Safety Authority; for males it was lower. Females were euhydrated during the study but males tended to be mild dehydrated, reflecting their comparative water intakes.

Forage halophytes such as saltbush (Atriplex spp) are being widely used to revegetate Australian saline land and can also provide a medium quality fodder source. There is widespread anecdotal evidence that sheep grazing on saltbush are leaner, tastier and juicer. This thesis investigated the potential to produce a high quality carcass with improved eating quality from grazing sheep on saltbush on saline land. The first experimental chapter in this thesis details an animal house experiment investigating the carcass, eating and wool quality and physiological responses of sheep ingesting a 60:40 dried saltbush (Atriplex nummularia):barley grain (S+B), ration verses a 33:25:42 lupin grain:barley grain:oaten hay ration (Control, C) for 10 weeks prior to commercial slaughter (Chapter 4). Subsequently, two field experiments were conducted to examine the effects of grazing saltbush on saline land compared to dry senesced pasture on carcass and eating quality of lambs (Goomalling 2003) and hoggets (Wickepin 2004) (both chapter 6) for 14 weeks. Both chapters demonstrated that the ingestion of saltbush resulted in significantly less fat and in the 2 field experiments the ingestion of saltbush resulted in more lean on the carcass compared to sheep grazing a stubble/pasture (control) ration. These are positive findings for processors as costs of fat denudation are high so the lower the fat content and for farmers because less fat is deposited on the carcass per unit of liveweight gain. The decreased deposition of fat was attributed to the higher protein:energy ratio available for production, secondary compounds in saltbush and lower circulating insulin and higher growth hormone of the S+B fed sheep compared to the control fed sheep. Further work is needed to determine if these beneficial improvements in carcass composition can be achieved without compromising animal production. The long term grazing of saltbush did not result in commercially desirable hot carcass weights unless the sheep were supplemented with a high energy source such as barley. The low growth rates are attributed to a decreased availability of energy substrates, low feed intake and increased energy output of sheep fed high salt diets. The low energy intake of the S+B fed sheep also resulted in an a significantly lower percentage of unsaturated fat and unchanged levels of saturated fat in the fat depots compared to the C treatment. Consumer taste tests conducted on meat from experiments in both chapter 4 and 6 indicated no difference between the treatments for any of the eating quality traits assessed. This can be considered a positive result as sheep can be finished on saltbush without any detriment to eating quality. High vitamin E levels in the meat may have also prevented the development of rancid flavours and aroma. It can be speculated that saltbush does not impart beneficial flavour and aroma volatiles as previously thought; instead the high vitamin E levels inhibit off-flavour and aroma development compared to meat from sheep grazed on dry pasture. The long term ingestion of saltbush also resulted in significantly lower urine specific gravity (USG), muscle dry matter and higher urine weights suggesting that the saltbush fed sheep had a better hydration status compared to control fed sheep. However, this finding did not correspond with higher hot carcass weight or dressing percentages. The increases in muscle fluid content of the saltbush fed sheep were attributed to changes in body composition. The saltbush fed sheep had a higher lean and lower fat content which corresponded with a greater body fluid content as found in the animal house study. Under conditions where the body composition of sheep remains the same, the use of short term strategic feeding of components of saltbush was investigated (mimicked in the form of salt and betaine) to reduce dehydration and subsequent reductions in carcass weight and dressing percentages (Chapter 7). Salt and or betaine were fed for 1 week either prior to a 48 h period of water deprivation or prior to 48 h commercial slaughter process where water was available in lairage from 24-48 h. Under both scenarios the diets did not result in improved dressing percentages, hot carcass weights, muscle dry matter or muscle weights. The ingestion of high salt diet prior to slaughter, did increase fluid retention in the extracellular spaces prior to slaughter however by 48 h both groups were at a similar physiological and therefore similar hydration status. Therefore similar levels of fluid were present in the muscles and no difference in carcass weight or dressing percentage could be expected. An important observation from the second experiment was that the high salt group drunk more water than the low salt fed sheep but the low salt group consumed fluid in lairage also. The low salt fed sheep may have been encouraged to drink water after observing the frequent drinking patterns of the high salt group. This thesis has also shown that saltbush contains high levels of vitamin E (á-tocopherol) (193 mg/kg dry matter). As a result the concentration of á-tocopherol in plasma, liver and muscle of the saltbush fed sheep was elevated compared to those grazing dry pasture. The high muscle concentrations of vitamin E in the saltbush-grazed sheep resulted in improved meat colour stability. The high vitamin E levels did not influence the drip and cooking loss of the meat despite a decrease in the muscle dry matter of the meat. The browning of meat and increased drip loss results in large losses to the meat industry due to value deterioration at the supermarket. There is also great potential for the high vitamin E content in saltbush to be used for the prevention of nutritional myopathy instead of using expensive and labour intensive synthetic supplements. In conclusion, this thesis has provided an insight into the carcass and eating quality of sheep grazed on saltbush based saline pasture systems. The most significant findings were that