The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet, fitness, and sedentary behaviour of elite para-athletes.

The sample was dominated by paracyclists (26 paracyclists and 2 paratriathletes), and only cycling fitness was assessed, so the findings should not be generalised to paratriathletes. Only five females and four males completed the fitness tests, and many athletes did not take part, so lack of differences in power or heart rate may reflect low statistical power. Training, diet and screen time were self-reported, and the before-pandemic measures were retrospective, so accuracy depends on recall. The fitness tests were done by participants at home, and the researchers did not verify that conditions were similar each time or where athletes were in their training cycle. The study did not measure body weight or body composition, so it cannot show whether calorie balance or health changed. Screen time type was not measured, so the increase cannot be interpreted as purely harmful or purely social.

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors, and the authors declare no conflict of interest.

Do not conclude that the pandemic had no effect on para-athletes' health or performance. Training and diet were self-reported, body weight and composition were not measured, and fitness testing included only five females and four males.