The world of athletics and fitness represents an exciting and expanding area of opportunity for registered dietitians/nutritionists (RDs/RDNs). Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals, now revised and updated for the fifth edition, is an outstanding resource for beginning and experienced practitioners alike. In 500 surprisingly easy-to-read pages, this text covers a spectrum of sports nutrition topics from the basics of exercise physiology to detailed suggestions for fueling pregnant athletes. While it offers more breadth than depth, this manual provides foundational, evidence-based information that dietitians can use as a thorough and reliable source of guidance in their practice of sports dietetics.
A joint effort by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) dietetic practice group, the book offers a nutrition-centric perspective on sports performance and athlete health. The roster of contributing authors features some of the most recognized names in sports nutrition research, including Louise Burke, Nancy DiMarco, Enette Larson-Meyer, and Ronald Maughan. Both editors are practicing Board Certified Specialists in Sports Dietetics, and the research-based approach of the text is enhanced by a wealth of practical guidance.
A simple layout and systematic progression characterize the book's format, fostering excellent readability for a text of this size. Figures and tables are used judiciously, augmenting the written material without becoming distracting. Central concepts appear multiple times in various contexts (eg, importance of carbohydrate for optimal performance); this allows each chapter to function as a stand-alone reference. A vast body of sports nutrition literature is summarized within the pages of this book-far more than any single practitioner could hope to digest. As with any textbook, the very latest research is not represented-few sources published later than 2010 are cited and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) clinical eating disorder criteria included in the appendixes have been replaced by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition), criteria, but the data represented are otherwise very thorough. The comprehensive index facilitates quick access to specific topics.
This edition introduces "hot topics," brief discussions of controversial sports nutrition issues (timing of protein intake, for example), that appear throughout the text. While these blurbs answer questions that sports nutrition clients are likely to have, only a few topics are included. Iron status, bone health, body composition concerns of athletes, the role of protein, and the importance of high carbohydrate diets for athletes are subjects that receive repeated attention.
The text includes 4 main sections that proceed from fundamentals to specialized subtopics. Sports nutrition basics are covered in the first section, including a brief overview of exercise physiology and the latest performance-oriented guidelines regarding macro- and micronutrients, fluids and electrolytes, and ergogenic aids. The chapter on carbohydrates is particularly strong, featuring detailed, sport-specific prescriptions. Valuable tips for calculating sweat rates and individualizing fluid and electrolyte replacement can be found in the fluids/electrolytes discussion. An extensive list of ergogenic dietary supplements is provided, with a helpful "bottom-line" pronouncement delivered for each supplement.
An attractive and perhaps unique feature of this practice manual is its integration of the Nutrition Care Process in the chapter on nutrition assessment. The section on assessment and energy balance outlines the challenges of managing athletes' energy needs and guiding them through the pitfalls of weight management and body composition alteration. Practitioners are urged to avoid oversimplifying the energy balance equation; a nuanced and individualized approach is described. Recommendations provided here pertain to active individuals across the spectrum of intensity, from joggers to decathletes.
The book's final 2 sections are targeted at the practicing sports RD as the authors focus on specific populations and present sports nutrition guidelines tailored for various types of athletes. The life span segment encompasses adolescent, collegiate, elite, and masters athletes. Topics addressed include navigating National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations for feeding athletes, finding a relevant niche among throngs of other professionals seeking the elite athlete's attention, and addressing older athletes' food and medication interactions. Pregnancy, disordered eating, and diabetes also receive distinct attention; the diabetes chapter, in particular, supplies excellent advice for aiding the athlete with type I diabetes to manage blood glucose in conjunction with exercise.
The sport-specific section contains a needed review of nutrition practice for high-intensity, short-duration sports, an area often overlooked in favor of endurance-oriented sports where nutrition has played a more prominent role. High-intensity/intermittent and endurance/ultraendurance sports also are addressed. Summary tables display fascinating data regarding the energy expenditure, macronutrient intake, and fluid needs of ultraendurance athletes. The "At a Glance" unit gets even more specific, highlighting the most important considerations for each sport-a tremendous resource for the sports RD trying to provide individualized guidance. The role of the sports RD in a military setting also receives coverage in one of the appendixes.
From cover to cover, Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals delivers research-based, practice-oriented material that RDs as well as other sports and fitness professionals can use to optimize their services to clients at all levels of athleticism and competition. Advanced practitioners may desire more depth in some areas, but this text covers the fundamentals of sports nutrition in an accessible format. The resources contained in this book provide support for evidence-driven decisions that will create continued success and credibility for the field of sports nutrition and provide additional areas of opportunity for RDs/RDNs.
-Nathan E. Myers, MS, RD
Clinical Dietitian
New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell
Medical Center, New York
([email protected])