Diet, Nutrition and Optimum Weight
Food is fuel, and the right diet powers performance. Meet the macronutrients and micronutrients, learn the athlete tricks of carbohydrate loading and protein timing, and see what optimum weight really means.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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Food is fuel
What an athlete eats shapes how they perform. The right diet provides energy for exercise and the materials to build and repair the body. This module meets the macronutrients and micronutrients, learns the athlete tricks of carbohydrate loading and protein timing, and asks what optimum weight really means.
The language of nutrition
Four ideas run through this module:
Two kinds of athlete
Different demands need different diets. Endurance and power athletes lean on different macronutrients.
Fuel for exercise
Which macronutrient is the body's main energy source for exercise?
- Carbohydrate
- Protein
- Fat
- Fibre
Match each nutrient to its job
- Carbohydrate
- Protein
- Fat
- Fibre
- The main, quick source of energy
- Growth and repair of muscle
- A slow-release energy store
- Keeping digestion healthy
Small but vital
Select the TWO nutrients that are micronutrients, needed only in small amounts.
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Carbohydrate
- Protein
Carbohydrate loading
Before a long endurance event, athletes eat extra carbohydrate for a few days. Their muscles store it as glycogen. With fuller glycogen stores, the athlete can keep going longer before tiring, so fatigue is delayed.
A marathon loading routine
Put the steps of carbohydrate loading for a marathon into order.
- An endurance event, such as a marathon, is ahead
- In the days before, the runner eats extra carbohydrate
- The body stores it as glycogen in the muscles
- During the race, the glycogen fuels the muscles
- Fatigue is delayed, improving endurance
Timing the protein
Why do power athletes time their protein intake soon after training?
- To aid the growth and repair of muscle
- To store more fat
- To lose water quickly
- To cool the body down
Nutrition in words
A balanced diet gives the right nutrients for a person's activity. The three _____ are carbohydrate, protein and fat. _____ is the main energy source, while _____ is needed for the growth and repair of muscle. Endurance athletes use carbohydrate _____ before a long event, and a person's ideal weight is called their _____ weight.
What each nutrient does
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- Carbohydrate is the body's main energy source for exercise.
- Protein is needed for the growth and repair of muscle.
- Vitamins and minerals are macronutrients needed in large amounts.
- Every athlete has exactly the same optimum weight.
- Fat provides no energy to the body at all.
Match each athlete to their focus
- An endurance athlete
- A power athlete
- A horse-racing jockey
- A rugby prop forward
- Carbohydrate loading before a long event
- Protein timed after training
- A low optimum weight for their sport
- A high optimum weight with strong muscle
Advise the athlete
Give the right nutrition advice for each athlete.
- A marathon runner wants to keep going longer before tiring on race day. Which diet strategy helps?
- A weightlifter wants to build and repair muscle after a session. Which nutrient should they focus on?
- Two athletes in different sports have very different ideal weights. What best explains this?
A tale of two athletes
A long-distance cyclist and a sprinter both ask for diet advice. Explain which macronutrient matters most for each, and describe one athlete-specific strategy, such as carbohydrate loading or protein timing, for each.
- Explain which macronutrient fuels endurance events
- Explain which macronutrient the sprinter needs for power
- Describe carbohydrate loading for the cyclist
- Describe protein timing for the sprinter