The amount of food or nutrients required by a person in a day depends upon the need for energy and specific demands of a person. These needs are directly related to age and physical activity. During the rapid growing years, i.e. 12 – 22 years for boys and 12 – 18 years for girls, there is a gradual increase in daily food requirements. But as we grow old, our daily need for energy decreases. The amount of energy required by people engaged in low, moderate or high level of physical activity differs.
A sportsperson always needs to consume more calories than a non-sportsperson. Similarly, the dietary needs of a woman during pregnancy and lactation are higher. Let us discuss the dietary requirements of different individuals.
Diet for Adolescents
We know that during adolescence, changes take place in the body composition of boys and girls; and as a result their nutritional requirements increase. Girls need more minerals like calcium and iron. Adolescent girls and boys need to take calcium rich food to keep their bones, teeth and muscles healthy; and iron rich food to keep them strong. Therefore, it is essential for them to consume more dairy products, beans and green leafy vegetables in their diet. Young girls taking inadequate diet may suffer from nutritional problems like irondeficiency anaemia and obesity. This may be due to refusal to eat food to maintain weight or binge eating habit. Furthermore, an under nourished adolescent girl is at a risk of developing complication during pregnancy and child birth.
Diet for Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers
Women always require more iron than men. Pregnant and lactating mothers have special dietary needs. In our country, it is seen that pregnant and lactating women do not take healthy diet because of lack of availability and lack of important nutritional information. A pregnant and a lactating mother requires additional energy over and above her normal requirements. There is also an increased need for protein, calcium and iron. Inadequate intake of nutrients causes harm to the foetus and the child. Mothers should follow the guidelines for intake of nutrients available from the nearby health centre and gather knowledge regarding weight gain and supplementation. Besides food, normal physical activities and light exercises like walking should be performed by pregnant women in consultation with the doctor or health worker.
Good nutrition during pregnancy promotes healthy weight of the newborn. Low birth-weight children are prone to various diseases during adulthood. Therefore, pregnant women and mothers should keep the following in mind.
Include all food groups in daily diet. Care should be taken to include cereals, pulses, ghee-oil, sugar, jaggery, vegetables, fruits, milk and its products in the daily diet.
Additional Calorie Requirment during Pregnancy and Lactation
Consume more foods containing iron like green leafy vegetables, black sesame seeds (til), raisins, jaggery, poha.
Consume more foods like milk and its products (viz. curd, paneer, kheer), white sesame seeds (til), ragi, guava and bajra, which provide all the calcium and protein needed.
Do not restrict diet. Have a balanced diet.
Table presents the additional calorie requirement during pregnancy and lactation.
Diet for Sportspersons
All kinds of physical activities burn a lot of energy. Sportspersons undergo physical training which involves regular strenuous exercises for a long period for developing physical fitness and improving performance. They, therefore, need more calories for energy. Even persons who do not participate in competitive sports but undertake exercise programmes for physical fitness need extra energy. Accordingly, they are required to plan their diet.
Let us have a look at the table given below to understand the energy expenditure of a person of age between 20 to 39 years, with a body weight of approximately 60 kg by various activities.
These additional requirement of nutrients for training load can be achieved with a balanced diet. In the past, athletes were advised to take large amount of protein from eggs, meat and milk, but it is now generally accepted that carbohydrate and not protein, is the best source of energy. One should also remember that extra protein intake does not increase muscles.
Energy Expenditure of a Person by Various Physical Activities (kcal/hr)
| Activity |
kcal/hr |
Activity |
kcal/hr |
| Cleaning/mopping |
210 |
Walking 4 km/hr |
160 |
| Gardening |
300 |
Running 6 km/hr |
353 |
| Cycling 15 km/hr |
360 |
Running 10 km/hr |
655 |
| Volleyball |
180 |
Running 12 km/hr |
750 |
| Badminton |
348 |
Dancing |
372 |
| Tennis |
392 |
Standing |
132 |
Diet containing complex carbohydrates is always preferred over that containing simple sugar. In case of sportspersons, a dietary carbohydrate intake of 500-600 gm/day is necessary to ensure adequate glycogen synthesis. Carbohydrates break into sugars that give energy. Extra sugar is converted into glycogen and stored as adipose tissue by the liver. It is broken down to simple sugar whenever energy is required. An athlete needs to choose foodstuffs from all groups displayed in the food pyramid and pay attention to the intake of adequate water.
In planning one’s diet, care must be taken to follow good eating habits that we discussed earlier. Physical activities may be performed after at least three hours of taking a principal meal and after half an hour of taking light food. A sportsperson’s diet is very important not only during the training period, but before and after the competitions too.
Diet before Competition
The pre-competition meal needs to be high in carbohydrates, low in fat, low in protein, low in fibre, enjoyable and familiar to the participant. Food may include breakfast cereals, bread, roti, fruits, fruit juice, boiled rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits and carbohydrate drinks.
Diet on Competition Day
On the day of competition, the most important thing to remember is never to try anything new. An athlete must follow a simple and sound nutritional routine. If the competition is held in the morning, just eat a light carbohydrate-rich breakfast with plenty of fluids, cereal with milk, bread or roti. Large quantities of sugar, confectionery or honey should be avoided. Food that may upset the stomach and make feel heavy may be avoided.
Eating just before Competition
Small amount of food containing carbohydrates just before competition helps to delay fatigue and improve endurance.
Drinking during Competition
Have your last drink 15 – 20 minutes before actual competition. It is essential to drink water at regular intervals to avoid dehydration. Right kind of sports-drinks hydrate our body and also supply energy.
