Question:
Overview
The majority of the peer-reviewed research into the effects of nutrition on sport and exercise performance takes place within specialised laboratories of academic institutions; however, the findings are not only of interest to academics. Therefore, for the new knowledge gained to be shared with the widest possible audience, but still retain a strong evidence base, it is necessary for scientists and researchers to become skilled at writing directly for a non-scientific audience. National newspapers have a large readership, but due to space limitations and short deadlines often do not have the capacity to publish detailed, evidence-based pieces related to sports nutrition. Print and online magazines focussed on fitness, health, and/or sport/exercise performance tend to accommodate longer (750 – 1500 words) and more heavily researched articles on these topics, and some of these publications/websites include articles custom written by academic researchers for laypeople. Therefore, your task will be to produce an original magazine style article on a topic of current interest within sport and exercise nutrition. The basis of the idea is entirely your choice, but the article must be your own work, and must cover a topic/issue/debate within the field of sport and exercise nutrition
Choosing a topic based on sports nutrition /health and fitness
Some ideas for choosing a starting point for your article include:
- A journal article related to sport and exercise nutrition that has recently been published showing novel, unexpected, or controversial findings.
- A major sporting/exercise event that is currently going on, has just finished, or will happen in the near future(linking it to sports nutrition).
- The effect on sport/exercise performance of a diet that has grown in popularity and/or received increased media attention recently.
- A comparison between a whole food source of a nutrient and an extract/supplement for sport/exercise performance
Most important is that you read widely on the topic that you will focus on in your article, critique the quality of the different studies that have been published in that area, then use the findings of your critical analysis as the evidence base for your article.
Advice for writing your magazine style article
1) Read relevant online magazine articles to get a feel for how the style of this form of writing differs from that asked for in a lab report, essay, or journal article. Some good examples from different online magazines will be added as links on the module.
2) Put some thought into coming up with a tagline/headline that conveys the core message of what your article is about, attracts attention, and encourages people to read further. If you can keep this short, without excluding an essential part of your message, that is a plus. You should follow this with a first sentence that immediately leaves a strong impression and convinces the reader to commit to reading the rest of the article. This is best achieved by telling the reader something they do not know (or are unlikely to have heard about), thus giving you the opportunity to invite them along on an exciting journey of scientific revelation.
3) If appropriate, include relevant high-resolution, eye-catching pictures that help to interest readers and instantly provide an insight into the topic of your article. It is important not to use images to which the photographer/publisher retains all the rights, therefore make sure to take advantage of websites (e.g. Unsplash) that allow you to search through high quality photos that have been uploaded for you to download and use however you want. Certain search engines also include a tool where you can search images according to the rights attached to them, therefore excluding all those that do not permit reuse.
4) Make sure you critically analyse the journal articles and other sources of information that you cite, rather than just repeating their conclusions word for word in your article. It may be helpful to keep a list of positive and negative points for the papers you will cite, so that you can advise readers of how much attention they should pay to a particular finding you mention. However, be careful not to become too focussed on fine detail within the article, and limit technical language/jargon, as both could confuse lay readers.Make sure you engage the reader without complicating the article (this is very important).
Referencing requirements
As opposed to papers published in scientific journals, magazines do not tend to include a reference list after the main body of an article. Therefore, as is the norm for magazine articles, you should embed your references as hyperlinks within your articles, such that a reader can click and open the reference within their internet browser. For non-journal sources, provide a direct link; for journal articles you can link either directly to the article on the publisher’s website or indirectly to the article’s abstract on PubMed. Make sure to use a mixture.
The number of references to include may vary depending on the topic, but a good guide for an article of 1500 words would be 20-30 references(do not go under or exceed); this should allow you to provide a strong evidence base.
Examples
An example of an outstanding evidence-based magazine article on sport/exercise nutrition within the online publication The Conversation. If this piece were assessed as a submission for this module’s magazine article assignment, it would receive a first class grade. This article should serve as a template for how you set up your own magazine article.
https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/supplements-that-work-and-ones-you-should-skip
An example of an article on dietary supplements from Men’s Health magazine. This example does not link to so many peer-reviewed sources within the body of the text, but instead relies upon opinion/comments from credentialled practitioners in the field
An interesting and evidence-based article on how nutrition factors in to elite marathon performance.
Topic
I would like the article to be based on either supplements in sport and exercise (ie, body building supplements, creatine,protein shake, sport supplements) as there is a lot of material, or hydration in sports.
- It is vital not to complicate the article but at the same time time be informative and engaging with the reader (this isn’t a lab report).
- be careful not to become too focused on fine detail within the article, and limit technical language/jargon, as both could confuse lay readers. Make sure you engage the reader without complicating the article (this is very important).I can’t stress that enough.
Answer:
In the current article we will talk about the importance of nutrition for the improvement of exercise and sports performance. The active and proper functioning of the human body is dependent much upon the diet. The diet further helps in making the bones and the muscles stronger. However, there is a constant pressure of performance on the players which makes them heavily dependent on food supplements. The excess of the health supplements have often been found to have negative consequences over the long term health. Good food and diet have been found to ne indispensable in building body strength and immunity. Our focus of discussion will be the women’s hockey world cup which is to be hosted in London in the year 2018 from the 21st of July to the 5th of August (https://londondevilettes.ca/Contact/2277/). Performance management is one of the criteria for women’s world cup. However, we will be mostly focusing upon the good food a diet for performance management.
The event
In the current article we have taken into consideration women’s hockey tournament which is to be hosted in London in the year 2018. The 2018 women’s hockey world cup is going to the 14th edition women’s hockey world cup. It is scheduled to be held between 21st July to 5th August in the Lee valley hockey and tennis centre in London. “Amidst the preparation and the excitement we really cannot take the health and diet of or players less seriously”, said Greg and Kathy Strauss the tournament conveners (http://lfpress.com/2018/01/30/london-devilettes-hockey-tournament-matches-record-of-183-girls-womens-teams/wcm/41fe7a13-4005-15bb-29cb-10a00aef69b7). As mentioned by them, it would be much likely to watch this year the zeal and the enthusiasm that the several national teams participating in the tournament would bring into the table. “We are almost maxed out on ice availability and hotels are the limiting factor right now with so many teams coming from out of town”, said Greg (http://lfpress.com/2018/01/30/london-devilettes-hockey-tournament-matches-record-of-183-girls-womens-teams/wcm/41fe7a13-4005-15bb-29cb-10a00aef69b7). Many of the players would bring along with them their families. The event is said to be one to biggest fundraiser for the devilettes and has a great impact upon the city (http://www.bbc.com/sport/41527965). Therefore, one can expect tightly packed stadiums in the Lee Valley hockey and tennis centre. As mentioned by Greg the tournament convener, “the job really starts for the next tournament, the day after the tournament ends as many of the players are coming back” (https://londondevilettes.ca/Contact/2277/).
This year there would be a major focus on the nutrition quotient of the players for ensuring that all the teams can put their best show. The London hockey authorities have taken an initiative to reduce the dependency of the players on creatinine. Creatinine supplements results in considerable amount of increase in intramuscular creatinine, which may lead to improvements in high intensity exercise performance (https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z). The sports federation has long been discussing the side effects of creatinine on kidney function in dosage more than 10mg/day. The total creatinine pool in the dry muscle averages about 120 mmol/kg of dry muscle mass for a person weighting 70 kgs (https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/). The upper limit here appears to be 160mmol/kg of dry muscle. Out of this 1-2% is degraded and excreted through the urine (https://www.scandpg.org/2016-symposium/whole-foods-vs-supplements/). The organizing committee of the England based hockey federation recently went abuzz regarding the benefits of dietary interventions in improving the sports performance of the players.
Picture: women at hockey world cup practice sessions
(Courtesy: https://unsplash.com/search/photos/sports-nutrition)
Picture: creatinine diet supplements
(Source: https://unsplash.com/search/photos/sports-nutrition)
Diet on exercise performance
Recommendations from some of the famous sports nutritionist such as Ivy and Portman focuses on the development of more strength and lean muscle mass in less time. The researcher has gone that extra mile just to make the players and the sports enthusiast worldwide understand the manner of the muscle building cycle. The sports nutritionist has gone on record saying, “We will allow you to build more strength and lean muscle mass in less time than ever before” (https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/). They had further broken down the 24 hours muscle growth cycle into muscle producing energy, recovering and building. As commented by the London based hockey sports federation, “we want to make our players aware of the specific nutrients input at each of these phases” (https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/). Ivy and Portman further states that the energy phase occurs during the training, the anabolic phase starts 45 minutes after training, the growth phase occurs after the 45 minutes and until the next training session (https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/). During the energy phase the muscle uses the stored glycogen. “Therefore, at this stage we ask the athletes to have already eaten carbohydrates and proteins for aiding the synthesis of protein after training”, said Dr. Ivy. During the anabolic phase the athlete needs to eat sufficient carbohydrates as the muscle cell membranes are more permeable to glucose. Additionally, increasing the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables can reduce oxidative stress within the athletes (http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/S0899-9007(15)00073-8/abstract). In the growth phase, the athlete need to consume carbohydrate meals with increased glycemic index, as it helps in storing glycogen for the next workout (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-014-0149-y). Greg and Kathy goes on to say, “menu construction and preparation of meals and snacks have been would be undertaken by specialised chefs, sports dieticians and food service dieticians” (https://www.physio-pedia.com/Sports_Nutrition). As prescribed by the hockey sports federation, meal plans were developed for individual athlete to integrate personal food preferences and nutritional requirements (https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_DHeO3YX7fEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Driskell,+J.A.+and+Wolinsky,+I.+eds.,+2016.+Nutritional+assessment+of+athletes.+CRC+press&ots=y5BCssInpi&sig=f5tdHQy-4KKPGhuGkLDS7M4leFM#v=onepage&q&f=false). From the several dietary interventions that the athletes have been put in the past, the sports federation have highly recommended the importance of high CHO diets compared to low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) diet. The shift of substrate oxidation from carbohydrate to fat based fuels during exercise translated in increased demand of oxygen (http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2014-0036). As reported, “Improved performance of the athletes during training was observed by consuming Carbohydrate (CHO) rich diets occasionally” (https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/). It has been found that during exercise blood ketone levels are generally high. Therefore, additional creatinine supplements can lead to increase in the blood ketone levels which on decomposition could lead to renal function damage.
Picture: Diet planning for sports person
(Source: https://unsplash.com/search/photos/sports-nutrition)
Comparison of whole food source and supplement on exercise performance
“The debate of whole food versus supplements will never end” as stated by Greg and Kathy. Therefore, we are striving to reach to a more balanced solution regarding the exact and effective administration of diet to the athletes, said one of the tournament convenors. Repeated experiments have proved that whole foods have much more nutritional value compared to supplements. For example, as highlighted by Ivy and Portman the administration of supplements beyond a point can lead to the development of muscle fatigue. In the recent times, many players and athletes have been removed from their positions on the grounds of doping (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/7/2493). The doping has been often associated with high intake of food supplements (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/7/2493). Lara Gray, who is a certified sports dietician at the National Centre for Drug free sport recommends education for ‘acceptable supplement use’. There is a need for direct and practical food solutions to for re-enforcing positive behaviour change in the athletes (http://www.aspetar.com/journal/viewarticle.aspx?id=217#.WrPd7ohubIU).
It has been seen that consuming four ounces of grilled chicken has three times more amino acids as compared to top selling amino acid supplement (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2012.747526). Poor food choice can turn a champion into a poor athlete. Therefore, eating right is very important for performing well in the field. The athletes eating a diet rich in nitrates extracted from vegetable were able to enhance their performance within 10 days (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2012.747526). Though, players with very high energy needs have been seen to do well with supplements. Eating something in the recovery phase has been seen to produce improved consequences in the agility and activity of a sports person. The athletes who have been travelling have been seen to do preferably well with the supplements as access to fresh and whole meal have been limited (http://www.aspetar.com/journal/viewarticle.aspx?id=217#.WrPd7ohubIU). Despite the athletes having a more positive body image than the non-athletes they are more likely to develop an eating disorder. Additionally, the addiction and dependence on supplements have often been seen to result in more severe consequences such as doping (https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_DHeO3YX7fEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Driskell,+J.A.+and+Wolinsky,+I.+eds.,+2016.+Nutritional+assessment+of+athletes.+CRC+press&ots=y5BCssInpi&sig=f5tdHQy-4KKPGhuGkLDS7M4leFM#v=onepage&q&f=false).
Picture: Sports nutrition pyramid
(Source: https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/)
To conclude:
Therefore, we have tried to cover the various highs and lows of dependence upon supplements for acquiring nutrition in sports. Some of these are taken in the form of synthetic creatinine and supplement proteins. The athletes have often been seen to intake these through forms of injection. However, overdose of creatinine have been banned by the sports federation on grounds having severe consequences such as renal damage. On the other hand depending upon whole food for absorbing nutrients have been seen to be more beneficial compared to supplements. Additionally, the importance of high carbohydrate diet during the recovery period of the muscle growth cycle has been emphasized within the current sports circle. Scientific evidence and reports have suggested that dependence on supplements disturbs the metabolic and synthesizing activities. The direct and practical food solutions have been seen to alter the behaviour of the athletes in a positive manner.
Picture: diet planning
(Source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2012.747526)
Bibliography
bbc.com 2018, bbc.com , Available at: http://www.bbc.com/sport/41527965 [Accessed on 21 Mar. 2018]
Devlin, B.L. and Belski, R., 2015. Exploring general and sports nutrition and food knowledge in elite male Australian athletes. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 25(3), pp.225-232. Retrieved from : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2012.747526 [Accessed on 17 Mar. 2018]
Driskell, J.A. and Wolinsky, I. eds., 2016. Nutritional assessment of athletes. London:CRC press, 101-212. Retrieved from : https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_DHeO3YX7fEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Driskell,+J.A.+and+Wolinsky,+I.+eds.,+2016.+Nutritional+assessment+of+athletes.+CRC+press&ots=y5BCssInpi&sig=f5tdHQy-4KKPGhuGkLDS7M4leFM#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed on 19 Mar. 2018]
Jeukendrup, A., 2014. A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Medicine, 44(1), pp.25-33. Retrieved from : https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/S40279-014-0148-Z [Accessed on 21 Mar. 2018]
jissn.biomedcentral.com 2018, jissn.biomedcentral.com , Available at : https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z [Accessed on 21 Mar. 2018]
Jones, A.M., 2014. Dietary nitrate supplementation and exercise performance. Sports medicine, 44(1), pp.35-45. Retrieved from : https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-014-0149-y [Accessed on 20 Mar. 2018]
Jones, A.M., 2014. Influence of dietary nitrate on the physiological determinants of exercise performance: a critical review. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 39(9), pp.1019-1028. Retrieved from: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2014-0036 [Accessed on 19 Mar. 2018]
lfpress.com 2018, lfpress.com , Available at : http://lfpress.com/2018/01/30/london-devilettes-hockey-tournament-matches-record-of-183-girls-womens-teams/wcm/41fe7a13-4005-15bb-29cb-10a00aef69b7 [Accessed on 20 Mar. 2018]
londondevilettes.ca 2018, londondevilettes.ca , Available at: https://londondevilettes.ca/Contact/2277/ [Accessed on 21 Mar. 2018]
physio-pedia.com 2018, physio-pedia.com , Available at : https://www.physio-pedia.com/Sports_Nutrition [Accessed on 18 Mar. 2018]
physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com 2018, physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com , Available at : https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP273230 [Accessed on 19 Mar. 2018]
Pingitore, A., Lima, G.P.P., Mastorci, F., Quinones, A., Iervasi, G. and Vassalle, C., 2015. Exercise and oxidative stress: potential effects of antioxidant dietary strategies in sports. Nutrition, 31(7), pp.916-922. Retrieved from : http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/S0899-9007(15)00073-8/abstract [Accessed on 20 Mar. 2018]
Shriver, L.H., Betts, N.M. and Wollenberg, G., 2013. Dietary intakes and eating habits of college athletes: are female college athletes following the current sports nutrition standards?. Journal of American College Health, 61(1), pp.10-16. Retrieved from : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2012.747526 [Accessed on 20 Mar. 2018]
sportsdietitians.com.au 2018, sportsdietitians.com.au , Available at : https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/sda-blog/food-supplements-best/ [Accessed on 18 Mar. 2018]
Thomas, D.T., Erdman, K.A. and Burke, L.M., 2016. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 48(3), pp.543-568.Retreived from : http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/26891166 [Accessed on 18 Mar. 2018]
Thomas, D.T., Erdman, K.A. and Burke, L.M., 2016. Position of the academy of nutrition and dietetics, dietitians of canada, and the american college of sports medicine: Nutrition and athletic performance. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(3), pp.501-528. Retrieved from: http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/7/2493 [Accessed on 21 Mar. 2018]
Vernec, A., Stear, S.J., Burke, L.M. and Castell, L.M., 2013. A–Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance: Part 48. Br J Sports Med, 47(15), pp.998-1000. Retrieved from : http://www.aspetar.com/journal/viewarticle.aspx?id=217#.WrPd7ohubIU [Accessed on 20 Mar. 2018]
Zajac, A., Poprzecki, S., Maszczyk, A., Czuba, M., Michalczyk, M. and Zydek, G., 2014. The effects of a ketogenic diet on exercise metabolism and physical performance in off-road cyclists. Nutrients, 6(7), pp.2493-2508. Retrieved from : http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/7/2493 [Accessed on 22 Mar. 2018]
