Analysis of the Importance of Health and Diet and how this Relates to Sports and Leisure

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