Biochemical Profiling for Sports Nutrition Support in Collegiate Athletes at a Federal University in Oyo State

Sports nutrition support in Nigerian collegiate athletics is generally available without systematic biochemical profiling, resulting in generic dietary advice that may not address the specific metabolic and micronutrient needs of individual athletes engaged in different sporting disciplines. This study develops and pilots a biochemical profiling protocol for sports nutrition support at the University of Ibadan athletics programme, Oyo State. Forty collegiate athletes representing track and field, football, basketball, and swimming disciplines and twenty sedentary student controls were enrolled. Comprehensive sports-relevant biochemical profiling included full blood count and iron stores panel for anaemia and iron deficiency detection; serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D for bone health and immune function; creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase as muscle stress and recovery markers; fasting glucose and insulin for energy metabolism assessment; serum magnesium and zinc for electrolyte and enzymatic function; and testosterone and cortisol by immunoassay as hormonal markers of training stress. Track and field athletes showed the highest rates of iron deficiency (38%) and vitamin D insufficiency (52%). Elevated creatine kinase indicating muscle microtrauma was present in 73 percent of football players during pre-season training. Testosterone-to-cortisol ratio, used as a marker of anabolic-to-catabolic balance, was below optimal thresholds in 46 percent of elite athletes during peak training periods. Individualized nutritional recommendations based on biochemical profiles were developed for each athlete. Post-intervention data at eight weeks showed significant improvements in iron status and vitamin D levels. Keywords: sports nutrition, biochemical profiling, collegiate athletes, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.