As academics in nutrition, dietetics and sports science teaching sports nutrition to undergraduate students, we have struggled to find a standalone textbook on sports nutrition that is pitched at the right level—containing enough evidence-based scientific information to support university-level students, written for an Australian and New Zealand context and designed in a straightforward manner that makes it easy to find, understand and apply information. We feel that with this textbook we have created a learning and teaching tool that will support a range of interests in sports nutrition, from recreational athletes to developing sports and nutrition professionals. It will also be a great reference text for athletes and those working with athletes.
This book has been developed in three parts.
Part 1: The science of nutrition and sport
The chapters contained in this section will help you to develop the underlying knowledge in physiology, nutrition and assessment required to understand and apply concepts in sports nutrition. Some of these chapters may serve as review or reference material for students who have completed previous study in nutrition and exercise physiology.
Part 2: Nutrition for exercise
These chapters will provide you with evidence-based recommendations on what to eat and when, and support you in developing plans for individual athletes and teams.
Part 3: Applied sports nutrition
In this section, you will become familiar with the nutrition requirements of athletes participating in a range of sports, and with the unique nutrition needs of athletes at different developmental stages and with other special needs.
The support website for the book provides additional resources, including further reading lists for each chapter, questions to test your understanding, study questions and case studies.
Before we jump ahead to the main content of the book, it is important to clarify a few important terms and concepts related to sports nutrition.
Elite sport versus recreational sport and exercise
The nutrition demands of athletes will vary depending on a range of factors, including age, sex, experience, training and the sport itself. The demands of athletes participating at an elite level may or may not differ from those of an athlete participating at a recreational level or exercising for fitness. Elite athletes often have the opportunity to train more, and will have higher energy and nutrition requirements due to their training load (although this is not always the case; for some elite athletes, stringent requirements related to body weight, body composition or image may lead them to consume diets lower in energy). In general, the elite athlete will be better adapted to perform in their chosen sport, and may be looking to nutrition to gain a slight edge on the competition. For recreational athletes and exercisers, nutrition may play an important role in increasing their ability to train and perform by reducing gastrointestinal discomfort and increasing energy levels before, during and after training. Throughout this textbook, you will be provided with examples of how modifying dietary intake before, during and after training or performance can improve the comfort, energy and performance of athletes at all levels, as well as promoting a healthy diet for long-term health benefits.
Sports nutrition and scope of practice
There is a range of roles nutrition professionals can play in sport. The work that you do and the information and recommendations that you provide should be guided by the scope of practice of your role and training.
Completion of a subject in sports nutrition does not make you a sports nutrition professional, but it does provide you with the foundational knowledge to undertake further study toward a career in sports nutrition, or to work in a role supporting other sports nutrition professionals.
If you are studying sports or exercise science, you should be guided by the scope of practice guidelines developed by Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA). On completion of an accredited course in sports or exercise science, you will be able to perform basic nutritional assessments and provide nutrition advice in line with national nutrition guidelines such as the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating; depending on the level of qualification, you may be able to undertake sports nutrition-related research. Undertaking more advanced nutrition assessment, providing medical nutrition interventions or prescribing nutritional supplements are beyond the scope of practice of exercise professionals unless they have completed relevant additional training.
If you are studying human nutrition, you will be able to perform similar activities to those described above. You may undertake basic nutritional assessments and provide advice for general health and wellbeing in line with national nutrition guidelines. Individualised dietary advice and recommendations related to specific medical conditions should be provided only by dietitians who have completed an accredited course in dietetics.
Accredited sports dietitians are the only professionals who are accredited to practice in sports nutrition in Australia. These professionals complete an accredited undergraduate or postgraduate course in dietetics, gain experience in clinical dietetics, then apply to Sports Dietitians Australia to undertake additional training in sports nutrition. After completing this training, passing an exam, and acquiring substantial experience related to sports nutrition, a dietitian may gain accreditation as a sports dietitian. Accredited sports dietitians work in roles supporting elite sporting organisations, in private practice with individual athletes, or as consultants to sporting clubs. Sports dietitians may be supported by other dietitians, nutritionists and exercise or sports scientists in these roles.
Sifting through the evidence: How to source and interpret the literature
This textbook will be a great reference for sports nutrition information. However, there is a lot of great research taking place and the evidence and recommendations for sports nutrition are constantly evolving. It is likely that there will be times when you are confronted with new ideas about food and nutrition in sport. So, how can you tell if what you are reading about is new information based on scientific research, or the latest fad being promoted by a celebrity? Given the implications for performance and health, it is important that you are able to separate credible information from popular anecdotes.
These days, we receive information from a variety of sources—traditional books, journals and newspapers, as well as television, radio, and online and social media. When assessing the credibility of new evidence, start by looking at who has written and published the evidence. Is the author an expert in the field? What other work have they done, and are they associated with an education or research institution? Is the work published by a reputable journal or a government website, or is it reported in a popular magazine or blog? Popular media such as television, radio and social media can present some credible information, but it is best to identify their source, and access and assess the original source of information for credibility. Sometimes, book and magazine articles can be written by someone with great interest but no qualifications in nutrition, and may contain ideas that are attractive and promise great things, but are not based on scientific evidence. In addition to checking the qualifications of the author and the credibility of the publisher, also identify what evidence is used to support any nutrition claims. Are claims based on quality, up-to-date research? Be wary of claims made with no supporting scientific studies, or those with only very old studies (evidence in nutrition is constantly evolving!), as well as any claims made by someone with a financial interest. Food and supplement companies can sometimes produce and report on high-quality research, but it is in their own financial interest to tell you about findings that support their products, so make sure you also identify some independent evidence.
So, where can you go to obtain credible and unbiased information? The support website has suggestions for additional reading with links to books, journal articles and websites. The Sports Dietitians Australia website (www.sportsdietitians.com.au/) has a large range of easy-to-read sports nutrition factsheets written by sports dietitians based on the latest scientific evidence. For those wanting to read more original research, PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) provides access to a huge range of research articles published in high-quality journals. Be sure to also read journal articles with a critical eye, checking that they have used appropriate methods and that their conclusions were justified based on the results.
We trust that you will find this textbook to be a source of reliable nutrition information that is easy to understand and apply in sports settings.