Nutritionist, Dr Alex Abegunde in bid to help athletes across the sporting world who wish to compete favorably and excel in global sports competitions, to maintain appropriate diet and feeding pattern has revealed the need of having an appropriate diet and acceptable feeding pattern in sporting circles in his latest piece of counselling.
He stressed that it could not be over emphasized in order to achieve the desired target and goals, particularly speaking to Nigerian athletes.
Abegunde posited that disjointed feeding pattern and low quality of food being consumed can be responsible for dismal outing by athletes in various national and international sports competitions.
Notably mentioned is knowing the mixture and type of foods that an athlete should be fed prior, during and after competitions could guarantee optimum performance and winning of laurels because when athletes are fed with wrong ration of calories, it not only hinders their performance, but also hinders their rising to the peak and retards the span of such athlete’s active years in sporting activities.
“Coaches should master the techniques of monitoring and supervising the feeding pattern of their athletes across sports varieties, implementing the appropriate feeding pattern can be capital intensive but Nigerian coaches and sports managers should equip themselves with adequate knowledge and information to excel.”
“There is need for Nigerian coaches to enhance the growth of sport industry, especially with the acquisition of scientific knowledge and skills, sporting activities varies, so also the type of diet for each category in order to achieve the desired objectives.”
“While some athletes require very light feeding pattern for optimal performance, others can do well with heavy or other appropriate pattern under close supervision by experts,” he emphasized.
