OBJECTIVES

• define fitness, exercise and sports nutrition,

• identify and relate the physiologic characteristics of active individuals
with their nutritional requirements,
• assess other concerns of athletes,
• recommend healthy eating for best athletic performance, and
• discuss the nutritional guidelines for athletes
DEFINITIONS
• FITNESS
• Characteristics
• Body is able to perform physical activity; flexibility of the joints; strength and
endurance of the muscles, including the heart muscle; a healthy body
composition; and a desirable healthy body weight.
• Ability to meet routine physical
demands with enough reserve energy
to rise to a sudden challenge; or the
body’s ability to withstand stress of
all kinds.
DEFINITIONS
• Regular exercise, important to one’s physical mental and emotional
health; conditions the body for greater stamina, increases energy
output for weight reduction, maintains normal serum cholesterol and
blood glucose levels, and relieves stress.
• Three types of physical activity include:
• stretching and toning;
• muscle-building; and
• cardiovascular or aerobic
physical activity.
Benefits of regular and adequate physical activities/
exercises:
• Help maintain optimal body composition.
• Increase muscles: ratio of the body’s
muscles to fat is greater.
• Improve the possibility of weight loss when
that is necessary.
• Increase the efficiency of muscle fibers to
produce energy.
• Increase the efficiency of hormones
(insulin, lipoprotein lipase, epinephrine) to
regulate energy metabolism.
• Decrease the production of lactic acid,
which interferes with energy production.
Benefits of regular and adequate physical activities/
exercises:
• Strengthen the heart, lungs, and
circulatory system.
• Increase the flow of oxygen to the heart
and brain.
• Strengthen the bones because the
muscles that support the bones are
developed.
• Increase levels of HDL over LDL and
decreases levels of some triglycerides
• Raise rates of basal metabolism.
• Help control appetite.
• Increase brain power and concentration.
DEFINITIONS
• Sports nutrition, study and practice of
nutrition and diet as it relates to athletic
performance; concerned with the type
and quantity of fluid and food taken by an
athlete, and deals with nutrients,
supplements and organic substances.
• Important part of many sports training
regimens is commonly considered in
strength sports (e.g. weight lifting and
bodybuilding) and endurance sports (e.g.
cycling, running, and triathlon).
SPORTS
NUTRITION
Guidelines regarding exercising and sports
activities for teenagers and young adults:
• All teenagers and young adults should be encouraged to exercise in ways best
suited to their lives. The exercised body is more likely to remain healthy than one
that remains sedentary, because historically the human required great energy
exchange to obtain food, protect itself, and to survive the elements
• Each teenager and young adult should participate in activities that maintain the
elements of fitness: body composition; cardio-respiratory function; and muscular
strength, endurance, and flexibility. Raising the heart rate to at least 50% but no
more than 75% of maximum for 15 minutes, with 5 minutes warm-up and cool
down, at least 3 days a week will maintain cardio-respiratory fitness.
• The maximum heart rate of adolescents has been shown to be about 200. This
number can be used until age 20 when the usual calculation for adults
(subtracting the age from 220 to derive the maximum heart rate), can begin.
• Stressful exercise is unnecessary and undesirable. Continuous gradual
improvement and maintenance are effective. A few well-chosen calisthenics will
maintain muscular strength, flexibility, and endurance.
• Adolescents who participate in sports as well as those who do not should develop
personal programs to assure fitness is maintained between seasonal participation
in organized programs.
 CONCERNS OF ATHLETES
• Weight Loss
• Changing body size and shape can
have detrimental effects.
• Unrealistic perception of Optimal body
weight and a belief that weight loss is
necessary for improved performance
can contribute to unhealthy weight loss
practices.
• risk medical problems
• Female athlete triad term referring to
the syndrome in young female athletes
that involves disordered eating,
amenorrhea and lowered bone density
(premature osteoporosis).
CONCERNS OF ATHLETES
• Use of Nutrition Supplements and Ergogenic Aids
• pressure to win
• search for a competitive edge.
• supplements and ergogenic aids with the
expectation of improved performance

Characteristics of Nutrition supplements and ergogenic aids

▪ provide calories (e.g., liquid supplements and energy)
▪ provide vitamins and minerals (including multivitamin supplements)
▪ contribute to performance during exercise and enhance recovery after exercise (e.g.,
sports drinks and carbohydrate supplements)
▪ are believed to stimulate and maintain muscle growth (e.g., purified amino acids)
▪ contain micronutrients, herbal, and/or cellular components that are promoted as
ergogenic aids to enhance performance (e.g., caffeine, chromium picolinate, creatine,
and pyruvate).
Nutrition Supplements and Ergogenic Aids
• nutrient supplements are unnecessary for athletes who select a
variety of foods and meet their energy needs
• Protein in foods is just as effective as supplemental protein for muscle
building
• Creatine effective supplement for muscle building for well-trained athletes to
increase exercise performance and strength
• Leucine most important amino acid for stimulation of muscle protein
synthesis and is an important signaling compound in muscle.
• skim milk and chocolate milk may be the new sports drink, as milk leads to
protein synthesis which boosts net muscle protein balance; more effective at
replacing fluids lost as sweat and maintaining normal body fluid levels
Nutrition Supplements and Ergogenic Aids
• Iron and calcium supplements may be recommended for female athletes if
their diets are low in these nutrients.
• Dietary supplements marketed as performance enhancers 🡪 Herbals,
glandulars, enzymes, hormones (e.g., steroid hormones) and other
compounds aimed at athletes carry many attractive claims.
• some have been well researched, most lack vigorous clinical trials to evaluate
clinically, apply to only one gender (usually males) or are relevant to only one
sport (e.g., weight lilting).
• Always consult your physician before
using any dietary supplements
and ergogenic aids
NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• Adolescent athletes require specific nutritional support, primarily to
maintain normal growth and physiologic maturation in spite of the
physical stress 🡪 Energy is the basic factor in the process.
• Young athletes (younger than 19 years) involved in competitive sports
need to fuel both physical activity and continued growth
 FLUID REQUIREMENTS
• Exercise and sports activities produce heat, must be quickly eliminated
from the body to maintain body temperature, adequate fluid intake, must
be furnished.
• Body temperature can rise one degree Centigrade for every 6-8 minutes of
exercise (moderate intensity).
• If heat is not eliminated, accumulated heat in the body could be
life-threatening within 20-30 minutes.
• Sports drinks provides electrolytes as well as water intake. Consulting a
physician or dietitian before buying a particular kind is recommended
• Environmental temperature and humidity also affect fluid needs🡪higher
humidity, less sweat that will be evaporated from the skin, decreasing the
body’s ability to cool itself and increasing the risk of heat-related illness.
• hyperthermia
FLUID REQUIREMENTS
• Hydration Guides for Athletes
FLUID
REQUIREMENTS
• Heat Illness Signs
To Watch Out For
FLUID REQUIREMENTS
(heat-related illness prevention)
• Exercise during the coolest times of day (before 9:00 AM. and after 5:00
P.M.).
• Gradually increase exercise in hot weather (intensity workouts over a
two-week period).
• Schedule fluid breaks every 15-20 minutes during any activity lasting
longer than one hour.
• Avoid the use of excessive clothing or equipment. Mesh jerseys, light
weight shorts, and low-cut socks allow more sweat to evaporate than
do sweat suits and heavy gear.
• Drink cool water before and after exercise.
• Drink 4-8 oz of cool water every 10-15 minutes during activity.
• Weigh before and after exercise replace each pound of weight loss with
2 cup, of water.
• Eat a balanced diet and do not skip meals. The necessary salts,
minerals, and vitamins can be obtained in a basic, health nutrition plan.
ENERGY REQUIREMENTS
• First source of glucose for the exercising muscle is its glycogen stores
• when depleted carbohydrate foods will furnish glucose needs.
• Carbohydrates are important during prolonged or sustained exercise to
maintain blood-glucose levels and to replace muscle glycogen
• recommended total amount of carbohydrate per day for athletes 🡪
depends on individual needs according to sports activity:
• Ultra-Endurance 12-13 g/kg/day
• Endurance 8-10 g/kg/day, (4 hours or more)
• Strength 6-8 g/kg/day, (1 hour or less)
• General Elite Competitive Sports -6 g/kg/day
ENERGY REQUIREMENTS
• Emphasis on Carbohydrates in Meals
• Complex Carbohydrates: Rice, pasta, noodles, Bread, pan de sal, muffins,
Cereals, oatmeal, corn flakes, potato, kamote, cassava, vegetables (leafy
and succulent)
• Simple carbohydrates: Fresh fruits, juices, hard candies, sugar candies,
Sweets, jam, jelly, panocha, molasses, honey, maple syrup, cane sugar,
brown sugar
ENERGY REQUIREMENTS
• Instead of a high fat diet for the extra
calories needed by an athlete,
carbohydrate-rich foods, especially
complex forms, are preferred because:
• It gives strength, endurance and resistance
during training and competition which no
other nutrient can efficiently give.
• Consistently high carbohydrate intake
increases one’s sensitivity to insulin,
enhancing glycogen synthesis for activity and
storage.
• It results in complete repletion, absorption,
utilization and storage of the much needed
glycogen in the liver, muscle and brain.
 Carbohydrate loading
• process of changing the type of foods eaten and adjusting
the amount of training to increase glycogen stores in the
muscles
• 1939, scientists observed athletes consuming a high
carbohydrate diet for three days perform heavy work twice
as much as those fed a high fat diet for the same three days.
• Carbohydrate, the most efficient fuel for athletic
performance especially intense aerobic and anaerobic
activity.
• energy from carbohydrate sources are released within
exercising muscles up to three times faster than can energy
from fat 🡪 preferred fuel for working muscles.
 Carbohydrate loading
• problem 🡪 the body can store only a limited amount of
carbohydrate as glycogen (in the liver and muscles).
• When carbohydrate is burned for fuel during exercise, it must be
replaced, or the athlete will have less and less energy when
exercising
• Calendar of Modified Carbohydrate Loading
FAT REQUIREMENTS
• Fat intake of 20-30% of total energy needs/day is sufficient to spare
protein from being used for energy and to supply the essential fatty
acids for the body.
• Normal fat deposits in the tissues and around organs are protectors and
act as insulating pad.
• Provide fat that are easy to digest or in emulsified form.
• Milk fat, cheeses, eggs, butter,
oils with high degree of unsaturation
is recommended.
PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS
• More researches are needed to support the view that a higher amount
of protein for athletes, more than the recommended requirement for
normal adults will be beneficial for exercises and sports.
• Excessive protein before a competitive game is discouraged to reduce
frequent urination and kidney load for urinary excretion
PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS
• Protein Moderation.
The key to protein’s successful role in the
athlete’s diet is moderation.

• The factors that affect protein requirements

during exercise are the following:
• Energy content of the diet (total amount of foods)
• Exercise or sports type (strength, endurance)
• Frequency of training (2x daily, how long)
• Level of conditioning (beginners or veterans)
PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS
• The recommended total
amount per day depends on
individual needs:
• Endurance: 1.2-1.5 g/kg
body weight
• Strength: 1.7-1.8 g/kg body
weight
• General Elite Competitive
Sports: 1-1.5 g/kg body
weight
 PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS
• Examples of Protein-Rich
Foods:
• Meats (beef, pork,
chicken): adobo, chicken
barbecue, etc.
• Fish and other sea foods:
shrimps, mussels, tuna,
crab, etc.
• Milk (regular or low-fat)
 PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS
• Adverse Effect of too Much Protein.
Contrary to popular belief, too much
protein is deleterious to athletes
because of the following reasons:
• Negative effects on kidney and liver.
• Protein does not give instant energy.
• Re-routes blood supply from brain, liver
and muscle into digesting heavy protein in
the stomach.
• Metabolism of protein requires more
water.
• Too much protein leads to elevated calcium
excretion in athletes
 VITAMINS AND MINERALS
• The amounts consumed a day for
natural foods are greater than
non-athletes to supply their
calorie requirements, most likely
they also meet their
vitamin-mineral needs.
• However, a dietary assessment will
substantiate this conclusion.
• For female athletes, iron supply is
critical.