Sports and Nutrition: Putting Science into Practice
Full course description
The central theme in this course is the translation from sport & nutrition research into practical guidelines for athletes. The purpose of this topic is to translate the knowledge gained in the other courses into practical guidelines tailored for the athlete. The course contains three cases in which a nutritional plan will be designed for athletes from different sports, taking into account their training practices. But the course also evolves around individualization or personalized nutrition depending on factors that go beyond the specific sport discipline, i.e., gender, ethnic background, culture, etc. Topics that will be addressed are popular diets, how dietary needs differ between persons, sports, and training phases, dietary assessment and how to communicate with athletes and be part of a larger coaching team.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, students have gained knowledge and understanding of the following topics:
- nutritional needs of athletes and how these differ per sport and per individual athlete. The
- How to determine the nutritional intake of athletes.
- How to make a food plan for athletes both for short and long term.
- Design and conduct customized nutritional plans for athletes from different sports and evaluate their applicability.
- Apply scientific knowledge in a practical sports environment.
- Synthesize and critically judge literature and translate to practical recommendations.
- Identify opportunities to improve sports performance through exercise and nutrition and translate to practical sports environments and/or individual athletes.
- Discuss and communicate with coaches and athletes.
- Write academic essays.
- Independently study international literature related to human movement performance and (sports) nutrition and translate scientific findings to practical recommendations.
Recommended reading
- M.E.G. Weijzen