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Nutrition for High Performance

Module description

This module covers the role of nutrition in maximising training quality and high-level sports performance. You will be exposed to contemporary studies investigating the effect of nutrition and nutritional strategies on performance in a range of different sports (from explosive power events to long-duration endurance events, as well as sports where performers compete in weight categories). The efficacy of the nutritional strategies will be critically evaluated in relation to findings of previous studies. This module will cover the essential information that is required to enhance your knowledge which is required to work as an applied practitioner within elite sport.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will concentrate on the critical evaluation of nutritional strategies and ergogenic aids and their effects on performance of specific athlete groups. You will have the opportunity to put into practice the methodologies that you have previously acquired for assessment of nutritional intake and then to suggest practically how diets can be manipulated to achieve evidence-based nutrient intake goals.

You will develop a number of important graduate attributes through this module:

• Team working and people skills.
• Ethical awareness/thinking and strategic thinking and problem solving.
• Data management skills.
• Enquiring mind and application of knowledge.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Critically appraise the efficacy of different nutritional strategies for specific athlete groups to generate an evidence-based position statement
• 2. Appraise and manipulate the nutritional habits of a sportsperson

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Communicate effectively with an athlete
• 4. Analyse and evaluate new data objectively
• 5. Synthesise the research literature
• 6. Work within a laboratory setting using standard nutritional techniques

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Plan and implement a course of scientific investigation
• 8. Study autonomously with minimal direction

Syllabus plan

• Introduction and overview including periodised nutrition.
• Nutritional requirements for:
o power and sprint athletes.
o Team and individual multi-sprint sports.
o endurance athletes.
o weight category athletes.
o female athletes.
o young athletes.
o master athletes.
o ‘Other sports’ e.g. Formula 1, equestrian sports, golf, eSports
• Effect of environmental conditions on nutritional requirements.
• Nutritional needs of travelling athletes.

The laboratories and seminars for this module will be student-led. You will form working groups to conduct a case study on an individual high performance athlete, which will include testing the efficacy of a supplement or nutritional strategy for that athlete.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will need to complete further assessment as required. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/ISSNPosP
• Burke, L.M.; Deakin, V. (2015). Clinical Sports Nutrition, 5^th edition. McGraw-Hill, London.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/ (peer-reviewed articles, position statements, and institutional reports will be regularly uploaded and updated)
• Sports England https://www.sportengland.org/
• International Olympic committee https://www.olympic.org/the-ioc

Key words search

Sports nutrition – high performance – elite athlete – periodised nutrition – position stand – position statement athlete nutrition