CW-School of Applied Human Sciences

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Browsing CW-School of Applied Human Sciences by Author "Boit, Michael K."

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    Food and Macronutrient Intake of Elite Kenyan Distance Runners
    (Kenyatta University, 2005-11) Onywera, V.O.; Boit, Michael K.; Wamukoya, Edwin K.; Pitsfladis, Yannis P.
    The food and macronutrient intake of elite Kenyan runners was compared to recommendations for endurance athletes. Estimated energy intake (EI: 2987 ±293 kcal; mean ± standard deviation) was lower than energy expenditure (EE:3605 ±119 kcal; P <0.001) and body mass (BM:58.9 ±2.7 kg vs.58.3 ±2.6 kg; P <0.001) was reduced over the 7-d intense training period. Diet was high in carbohydrate (76.5%,10.4 g/kg BM per day) and low in fat (13.4%). Protein intake (10.1%;1.3 g/kg BM per day) matched recommendations fur protein intake. Fluid intake was modest and mainly in the form of water (1113 ±269 mL;0.34 ±0.16 mL/kcal)and tea (1243 ±348 mL). Although the diet met most recommendations for endurance athletes for macro nutrient intake, it remains to be determined if modifying energy balance and fluid intake will enhance the performance of elite Kenyan runners.
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    The impact of east African regional cooperation on sport and physical education
    (2001) Boit, Michael K.
    The re-unification of the East African countries, namely Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania comes at a most opportune time when countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America are forming regional blocks to promote cultural, political and most importantly a wider market for greater economic prosperity. As for instance, the European Union, example, with a single currency, provides a testimony that in order to avert recession forging a united front directly creates a stronger economy. Sport has a significant role in the case of the East African Co-operation, Sports will provide one of the means to strengthen the friendship ties an among the three countries. This paper assesses the historical perspectives of sporting ties, in the region at colonial time and during East African Community period. With the background information, it is hypothesized that the prospect of sports under the rejuvenated and renewed co-operation will be characterized by high-tech and information revolution. In order for sports to prosper, therefore, research and development must assume a center stage. This will not be accomplished without good programmes in Physical Education and Sport science. The main responsibility of Physical Education and Sport science Departments will be the enhancement, enrichment and cultivation of knowledge of physical education instructors, sports coaches, researchers and other sports professionals. The continent of Africa has generally lagged behind when it comes to physical education and sport because sport has not been associated with economic development. This attitude will have to change because among the developed countries sport has played an important role in the process of nation building. Besides, the economic and social-political gains, sport is associated with health standards, which directly contributes to economic vibrancy. With better economy, the three nations will afford to allocate more financial resources to sport development and sports facilities. Frequent competitive matches among the three countries will certainly raise the standards and this will translate into sports excellence and more Olympic medals. In addition, the soccer teams from the region will stand better chances of playing at Continental and World Championship like the World Cup. The co-operation will, therefore, bring hope to Sports and Physical Education in the region.
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    No association between Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) gene variation and endurance athlete status in Kenyans.
    (Kenyatta University, 2005-11) Onywera, V.O.; Boit, Michael K.; Wamukoya, Edwin K.; Pitsfladis, Yannis P.
    It is well established that environmental factors are important in the success of east African runners in international distance running. The extent to which genetic factors influence this phenomenon is unknown Purpose: Perhaps the most studied of genetic variants thought to influence human physical perfurmance is the IID polymorphism in the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) .gene. The IID polymorphism is characterized by the presence (I) or absence (D) of a 287 base pair intronic fragment. The I allele is associated with lower tissue and circulating ACE levels, and also with endurance perfurmance. However, ACE gene performance association studies have, to date, been confined to Caucasian populations. The present study aimed to assess the association between variation in the ACE gene and elite endurance athlete status in an African population successful in distance running. Methods: DNA samples were obtained from 226 national level Kenyan athletes (N), 70 international Kenyan athletes (1), and 85 members of the general Kenyan population (C). Results: IID genotype was significantly associated with circulating ACE activity (P = 0.034), explaining almost 13% of the variation in ACE levels. IID genotype was not associated with elite endurance athlete status (df= 4, i=3.5, P = 0.47) with no over-representation of the I allele among N (0.42) or I (0.39) athletes relative to controls (0.38). Conclusion: The absence of an association between the IID polymorphism with elite Kenyan athlete status suggests that the ACE gene does not contribute significantly to the phenomenal success of Kenyan endurance runners in international distance running. These results do not support the hypothesis that ACE gene variation is associated with elite endurance performance.