Analysis
of the Importance of Health and Diet and how this Relates to Sports and Leisure
Introduction
It
is clear across the world of diverse culture and traditions, backgrounds, as
well as economic classes that mankind shares significant similarity.
Individuals of all ages, capabilities, and ambitions talk about their longing
for a healthy lifestyle. For an individual to be the best he/she can be and to
attain their visions it is necessary for them to have a stable foundation that
includes good health. However, it is apparent that there are no shortcuts to
good health. Individuals must be dedicated to regular lifestyle routines that
involve eating nutritive foods and being physically active (Smith, 2014).
A
proper diet for health that takes into consideration energy requirements as
well as adequate timing of nutrients forms the basis upon which a proper
training routine can be established. It has been observed that not eating enough
quantities of calories and proper macronutrients may hinder an athlete’s
training adjustments, while athletes who take a balanced diet with sufficient
energy requirements can improve physical training adjustments. Dietary intake
also influences the mood of an individual, hence affecting a person’s leisure
activities (Kreider et al, 2010). For
that matter, this module seeks to shed light on the significance of health and
diet in relation to sports and leisure.
Energy
Intake
Eating
an energy insufficient diet during training is dangerous and may lead to reduced
muscle mass and strength, increased chances for diseases, and increase chances
of overtraining. Therefore appropriate energy intake for balancing energy
expenditure is the major factor to consider in training and performance.
Individuals taking part in a general fitness plan for leisure, for instance,
training 30-40 minutes each day, 3 times each week can usually meet nutritional
requirements through a normal diet of 1,800 to 2,400 kcals/day or approximately
25 to 35 kcals/kg/day for a 50 to 80kg person since their energy requirements
from training are moderate, about 200 to 400 kcals/set (Kreider et al, 2010). On the other hand,
athletes in considerable levels of intense training involving 2-3 hours each
day of intense training 5-6 times a week or higher volumes of workouts may use
600-1,200 kcals every hour in training and may eventually need 50-80
kcals/kg/day making 2,500-8,000 kcals/day for a 50-100kg athlete. Even though
others claim that sportsmen can reach energy requirements just by eating a
well-balanced diet, it is normally quite difficult for heavily built athletes
or those in intense training to eat enough food that attains energy
requirements. Hence sports nutritionists suggest that athletes eat 4-6
meals/day and snacks in between meals to cater for this energy needs (Kreider et al, 2010).
Carbohydrate
Apart
from energy, other factor of optimization in training performance through diet
is the consumption of adequate levels of carbohydrates, proteins, fats,
vitamins and minerals. People involved in general fitness plan can generally attain
sufficient macronutrient requirements by eating a typical diet of about 45-55% carbohydrate
3-5 grams/kg/day, 10-15% proteins 0.8-1.0 gram/kg/day, and 25-35% fats 0.5-1.5
grams/kg/day. On the other hand sportsmen involved in moderate to intense level
trainings require greater quantities of carbohydrates as well as proteins. For
instance, athletes involved in moderate levels of intense exercise such as 2-3
hours each day of intense activities 5-6 times a week, normally require 55-65%
carbohydrates 5-8 grams/kg/day for 50-150 kg individual for him/her to sustain
liver and muscle glycogen levels. However, for athletes in high levels of
intense activity such as 3-6 hours/day for 5-6 days/week may require 8-10
grams/kg/day complex carbohydrates for 50-150kg athlete for the maintenance of
glycogen levels in muscles (Kreider et al,
2010).
Protein
Some
people suggested that there was no need for athletes to consume above the recommended
level (RDA) for protein, which is 0.8-1.0 grams/kg/day for both children and
adults. Nevertheless, recent studies show that athletes involved in intense
workouts need to eat approximately twice the RDA of dietary protein (1.5-2.0
g/kg/d) for the maintenance of protein balance. Insufficient levels of dietary
protein will result in poor nitrogen balance that can raise protein metabolism
and delayed recovery. With time, this may lead to muscle wasting and
intolerance during training (Kreider et
al, 2010). Active and older people may also benefit from eating more
proteins to reduce chances for sarcopenia illness. Since built sportsmen
normally have difficulties in consuming such high quantities of protein, some
have been observed to be vulnerable to protein malnutrition. Hence care should
be observed to guarantee the eating of appropriate quantity and quality of
dietary protein to preserve nitrogen balance (Kreider et al, 2010).
Fat
Interestingly,
the dietary needs for fat consumption in sportsmen are more or less similar or
slightly higher than for non-athletes. It is generally suggested that athletes eat
moderate quantities of fat (about 30% of their dietary caloric intake), however,
increases to 50% of kcals can be beneficial to athletes in times of regular
intense training.
Conclusions
to Strategic Eating
Investigations
report that timing and ingestion of meals taken determines the intensity of
performance, energetic leisure activities, training adjustments and improves
overtraining. With this, it takes approximately 4 hours for the digestion and
storage of carbohydrates in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Therefore,
pre-training meals should be eaten approximately 4-6 hours before training. It
is also apparent that taking of light carbohydrates and proteins as snacks
30-60 minutes before training raises carbohydrate levels in last stages of an
intense training session. Ultimately, the importance of water as a nutritional requirement
is essential (Kreider et al, 2010). Overall,
the type of diet an individual eats determines one’s health and consequently
the type of leisure and/or physical activity one can indulge in thereby
defining an individual’s lifestyle.
References
Kreider R. B., et al., (2010).
ISSN Exercise & Sport Nutrition Review: research and recommendations. Journal of the International Society of
Sports Nutrition, 7(7): 1-43.
Smith I. (2014). Elevate Health:
Fitness. Sports. Nutrition. The president’s
Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, 15 (1). Retrieved from:
https://www.presidentschallenge.org/informed/elevatehealth/docs/201403elevatehealth_1.pdf
