Health, Fitness and Wellbeing: Diet, Body Composition and Matching Nutrition to Sport
Matching nutrition to sport, part of the health, fitness and wellbeing strand, means adjusting the amount and timing of macronutrients to the specific demands of a performer's training and competition, rather than eating a single fixed diet for every sport.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn that body composition means the proportion of fat mass to fat-free mass (muscle, bone, organs), and that diet, alongside training, is used to influence it.
- Learn the definition of dietary manipulation: deliberately adjusting what, how much, or when a performer eats around their training and competition schedule.
- Learn the process of carbohydrate loading: increased carbohydrate intake combined with reduced training volume in the days before a long endurance event, to maximise glycogen stores.
- Learn why carbohydrate loading suits long endurance events (over around ninety minutes) but is unnecessary, and can even be counterproductive, for short or explosive events.
- Learn the principle of nutrient timing: carbohydrate before or during long events for available fuel, and carbohydrate plus protein soon after training to support glycogen replenishment and muscle repair.
- For 'explain why' questions on dietary manipulation, always link the strategy back to the specific physical demand of the event (duration, intensity, whether muscle repair is the priority).
- For an extended question, evaluate a named strategy for a named event: give the strategy, the mechanism, and a judgement on how appropriate it is for that specific performer or event.
Worked example
A marathon runner is planning their diet for the week before their race. Explain what carbohydrate loading involves and why it is an appropriate strategy for this event.
- Define carbohydrate loading: increasing carbohydrate intake while reducing training volume in the days before an endurance event.
- Explain the mechanism: this combination maximises the amount of glycogen stored in the muscles and liver, which are the body's limited stores of readily usable carbohydrate.
- Link to the event: a marathon lasts well over ninety minutes at a sustained, moderate-to-high intensity, so the runner's performance depends heavily on having large glycogen stores to draw on.
- Explain the consequence of not loading: without enough stored glycogen, the runner risks 'hitting the wall', a sharp drop in performance once glycogen stores run low, usually in the later stages of the race.
- Conclude: because the marathon is long enough for glycogen depletion to be a limiting factor, carbohydrate loading is an appropriate strategy for this runner.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is meant by 'body composition'?Show answer
Answer: The proportion of a person's body made up of fat mass compared with fat-free mass, such as muscle and bone.
Q2What is dietary manipulation?Show answer
Answer: Deliberately adjusting what, how much, or when a performer eats, to match the demands of their training or competition.
Q3Describe what carbohydrate loading involves.Show answer
Answer: Increasing carbohydrate intake while reducing training volume in the days before a long endurance event, to maximise glycogen stores.
Q4For what type of event is carbohydrate loading most appropriate?Show answer
Answer: Endurance events lasting longer than around ninety minutes.
Q5Explain why a sprinter would gain little benefit from carbohydrate loading before a 100 metre race.Show answer
Answer: A 100 metre race lasts only seconds and relies mainly on stored ATP-PC and small amounts of glycogen used anaerobically, so glycogen depletion is not a limiting factor, meaning extra stored glycogen provides no real performance benefit.
Q6What should a performer eat soon after a hard training session, and why?Show answer
Answer: Carbohydrate and protein, to help replenish depleted glycogen stores and to support the repair and growth of muscle tissue.
Q7Give one reason a performer might want to reduce body fat as part of their overall diet strategy.Show answer
Answer: To improve their power-to-weight ratio, or to meet a specific weight category or aesthetic requirement of their sport.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Physical Education exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
State two features of a carbohydrate loading strategy.
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Explain why the timing of protein intake after training is important for a strength athlete.
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A triathlete competing in an event lasting around five hours wants to adjust their diet in the week before competition and in the hours immediately after each training session. Evaluate the dietary strategies this triathlete could use, and justify how well each strategy matches the demands of their training and event.
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See real GCSE Physical Education past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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