Following an application from Specialised Nutrition Europe (SNE), submitted for authorisation of a health claim pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) via the Competent Authority of France, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on the scientific substantiation of a health claim related to carbohydrate solutions and contribute to the improvement of physical performance during a high-intensity and long-lasting physical exercise. The scope of the application was proposed to fall under a health claim based on newly developed scientific evidence. The food proposed by the applicant as the subject of the health claim is carbohydrate solutions containing glucose, mixtures of glucose and fructose, sucrose and/or maltodextrins. The Panel considers that carbohydrate solutions are sufficiently characterised in relation to the claimed effect. The claimed effect proposed by the applicant is 'contribute to the improvement of physical performance during a high-intensity and long-lasting physical exercise', which is considered by the Panel as a beneficial physiological effect. The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has been established between the consumption of carbohydrate solutions and the improvement of physical performance during high-intensity and long-lasting physical exercise. The target population is healthy trained adults performing high-intensity (at least at 65% of the VO 2max ) and long-lasting (at least 60 min) physical exercise. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and no modifications or adaptations are made.The EFSA Journal is a publication of the European Food Safety Authority, an agency of the European Union. The scope of the application was proposed to fall under a health claim based on newly developed scientific evidence.The general approach of the NDA Panel for the evaluation of health claims applications is outlined in the EFSA general guidance for stakeholders on health claim applications and the guidance on the scientific requirements for health claims related physical performance.The food proposed by the applicant as the subject of the health claim is CHO solutions. The Panel considers that CHO solutions (containing glucose, mixtures of glucose and fructose, sucrose and/or maltodextrins), which are the subject of the health claim, are sufficiently characterised in relation to the claimed effect.The claimed effect proposed by the applicant is 'contribute to the improvement of physical performance during a high-intensity and long-lasting physical exercise'. The proposed target population is 'healthy physically active, trained or well-trained adults (male and female) engaged in a highintensity exercise lasting more than one hour'. The applicant defines high-intensity and long-lasting physical exercises being performed at least at 65% of the VO 2max , at max...