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12 |
16 |
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35 |
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| USA |
10 |
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34 |
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11 |
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24 |
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6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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6 |
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16 |
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2 |
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10 |
16 |
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4 |
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12 |
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4 |
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11 |
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6 |
11 |
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Study explores diet & nutrition
Ed Yeates
KSL-TV
Sports scientists for the first time during the Winter Games are taking a long, hard look at diet and nutrition.
They look good on the outside, but what's happening inside these human machines called athletes?
That's what Utah researchers want to know in one of the most extensive research projects ever on diet and nutrition.
Andrew Subudhi of the TOSH Institute for Sport Science says, "It really will be the first study that takes a look at the total cross section of Olympic sport."
Subudhi and Nanna Meyer with Salt Lake's Orthopedic Specialty Hospital are looking at the whole arena of performance and nutrition. Meyer says some athletes feel dieting pressures because judges evaluate appearance.
She says while it shouldn't happen, mogul skiers are judged not only on speed but how they look visually.
"It's visual," Meyer says. "It's judged by the eye. The same is true for the aerial events, for the freestyle aerials. They're also judged by visual effects."
Women athletes who diet too much may become anorexic. At a University of Utah lab, Meyer is setting up base lines to compare the bone density of Olympic contenders.
Restricting foods to slim down may actually bring on a form of premature osteoporosis.
"It's a little bit similar situation as a post menopausal woman at the age of 60. Some of these athletes can actually experience similar things at 24 years of age," Meyer says.
The Utah group is also looking at what is called bone loading. Athletes who eat the right foods and do a lot of jumping may in fact develop stronger bones.
According to Meyer, "Jumping and being in the air and then having a strong impact on the skeleton could mean a great adaptation to bone, and stronger bones."
Dehydration, reworking routines so there are more food and drink breaks, how many calories does the athlete need on the day of competition? The study hopes to provide a lot of answers to coaches and trainers.
The nutrition studies are part of the Olympic Sport Science project, sponsored by the IOC and the Pfizer Corporation.
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February 14, 2002
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