Importance of Diet in Sports

Importance of Diet in Sports

Diet matters to a sportsperson for several distinct reasons. The CBSE syllabus sets these out as seven key points:

1. Repair and recovery. The body needs nutrition to repair and recover. Sportspersons place greater demands on their bodies, and if those demands are not met through proper diet, performance suffers and the post-training recovery process is impaired.
2. Body composition for the sport. Different games call for different body compositions. Within limits, body composition can be shaped by the nutrient composition of the diet (alongside training), helping an athlete reach the body-composition goals their sport requires.
3. Timing around competition. The right nutritional composition in pre-competition, during-competition and post-competition meals can improve performance, delay fatigue and speed up recovery.
4. Fitness, weight-loss and weight-gain goals. Knowledge of nutrition is essential to make fitness, weight-loss and weight-gain programmes succeed. Athletes in weight-category sports can hit their weight targets with the right diet, and during the off-season or a no-practice period the diet should avoid altering body composition too much or causing excessive weight gain.
5. Ergogenic aids. Certain nutrients are taken as ergogenic aids; their ergogenic potential and their psychological and physiological effects can help a sportsperson's performance.
6. Hydration and electrolytes. Dehydration impairs athletic performance, so a sufficient intake of fluids and electrolytes is needed to ensure maximum hydration before, during and after exercise. …