Sport and exercise nutrition: from theory to practice

Abstract

Sport and exercise nutrition has developed as a separate field of research and there have been significant advances in this field in the last 20 40 years. Sport and exercise nutrition is likely to get even more attention in the future considering that a large percentage of modern health issues are related to lack of physical activity or poor nutrition. Nutrition influences nearly every process in the body involved in energy production and recovery from exercise. Our knowledge has increased significantly in the last few years, mainly as a result of laboratorybased studies, most of which had a rather fundamental approach. Often, research that is lab-based is difficult to translate directly into practical recommendations both for elite endurance athletes aiming to improve performance and for the average person on the street who aims to increase his or her physical activity level and improve nutritional intake. Large gaps exist between the science and practice.