Sport Nutrition

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between food and athlete performance goes back to 450 B.C. When a Greek named Dromeus of Stymphaus proposed that athletes who consumed meat gained muscle strength and therefore their performance would be optimal (1). In 1960, the Australian wrestler, Lionel Rose fasted to increase his weight in the morning prior to competition. Then he ate steak, a whole chicken and he completed his meal with even more steak the night before his competition (1). In 1962, the use of the biopsy by Jonas Bergstrom enabled the measurement of metabolic responses of muscles after the exercise (1). The improvement of scientific techniques had significant effects on theories, and different nutrients are put forward as performance enhancing

His daily intake of food included brown rice, tofu, low-fat products, dairy products, and 20 pieces of fruits and vegetables (2).

The new technology has evolved, the research in this domain has progressed, and thus our knowledge on the appropriate dietary consumption for sport performance has improved. The pace of this progress renders the sport nutrition advice that we give nowadays to the athletes, different to that given even a decade ago. Nutrition often comes in third place, after talent and training as a factor affecting athletic performance. However, athletes can optimize that talent and this training by following sound principles of sport nutrition (2). With the continuous scientific development, the target market of information delivery of sport nutrition is no longer exclusive to elite athlete, and now reaches several different levels of athletes interested in achieving the optimal performance in their chosen sport. Registered dietitians and sport nutritionists sport occupy an integral part of sport science/medicine team at many levels (3). The role of registered dietitians and sport nutritionists is based on the integration of nutrition principles and

Cockburn et al. (6) found that UK coaches did not possess adequate nutritional knowledge to impart the correct advice to their athletes. Over half UK coaches provided advice to their athletes (n = 93, 57.1%), even though they were not competent to do so. Coaches responded correctly to 60.3 ± 10.5% of all knowledge questions with no differences between those providing advice and those who did not. Torres-McGehee et al. (7) reported athletes had insufficient information in all domains, which included micronutrients and macronutrients, supplements and performance, weight management and eating disorders, and hydration. Mean score of the athletes who participated (n = 185) was 55%, proving that they were deficient in the suitable knowledge. The findings of Torres-McGehee et al. (7) are identical to the findings of another study conducted 10 years earlier. Rosenbloom, Jonnalagadda, and Skinner (8) reported athletes had a faulty perception of the roles of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Many other studies have also noted these results (9, 10). A study of 168 rugby coaches, showed that approximately 84% of coaches indicated advising their athletes (11). TorresMcGehee et al. (7) unveiled that 43% of athletes seek nutrition advice from their coach. Furthermore, research has precariously indicated that coaches do not acquire a