Weight Management for Athletes: Important Things to be Considered

Abstract

Weight management is difficult for most individuals, as indicated by the high numbers of obesity around the world. Obesity has increased dramatically over the past decades. Unfortunately, this epidemic is not limited to adults but also to children in both globally and Cyprus. Developing a weight management plan is essential for everyone. Regarding to an athlete, weight management is an increasingly integral part, as consuming the right kind of food can lead them in success or failure. The special nutritional needs of athletes are depending on the sport. The most important priority for them is to establish a wellchosen nutrition program based on the type of the sport; the training load and the competitions needs. Health professionals and sport nutritionists need to understand dynamic energy balance and be prepared with effective and evidence-based dietary approaches to help athletes and active individuals achieve their body-weight goals. Therefore, the following review aiming to examine the most recent published data for weight-management both elite and recreational athletes of all ages, and to set out the most appropriate weight-management guidelines and dietary strategies to help them apply this knowledge to the practicalities of their own sport and individual situation.

Dietary practices of soccer athletes registered at the University of Limpopo, Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…Their performance may, however, be affected by a multiplicity of factors including nutrition [1]. Athletes need to involve nutrition practitioners due to varying dietary needs [2]. This step will assist athletes in making healthier dietary choices as they are frequently misled around dietary topics in sports [3].…”

“…Proper nutrition provides athletes with support for health and performance [4] and the foundation necessary to recover from exercise strain. Nutrients requirements for athletes generally depend on the intensity of that training program [2]. Meaning, a more intense training program would require additional nutrients.…”

“…Athletes require a properly planned diet that provides adequate energy and nutrients to support training and prevent deficiencies [2]. Adequate energy to maintain body weight, while optimizing performance is required [5].…”

“…Intakes that are too restrictive may compromise training or performance [6], resulting from the loss of muscle mass, fatigue, poor bone density, and menstrual dysfunction (in female athletes) [5]. Additionally, athletes adhering to energy-restricted diets may experience poor coordination, increased irritability, and dehydration [2]. Therefore, energy requirements for soccer athletes can be achieved through a diet offering approximately 105-147 kJ (25-35 kcal)/kg/day [7].…”

Sport Activity as Risk or Protective Factor in Feeding and Eating Disorder

“…We hypothesized that there could be different levels of self-esteem, self-control, mood states, eating attitudes, and body image among competitive athletes, non-competitive athletes, and sedentary peers. Furthermore, given existing evidence [28] that weight-dependent sports are risk factors for FED, we hypothesized that there could be different associations between both weight-dependent and weight-independent athletes with risk factors as well as protective factors for FED.…”