Introduction
The defining factor distinguishing the nutritional requirements for athletes is calorie consumption. In that regard, for Adam, a 14-year-old distance swimmer, the diet chosen to improve performance should consider his physical activities. The dietary changes that Adam made, in addition to improving his swimming performance, led to losing 28-pound in 6 months. This paper analyzes the personalized nutrition recommendations, stating that Adam should adjust his diet to conform to his energy consumption.
Analysis
The diet plan composed at the government website of the United States Department of Agriculture MyPyramid.gov indicated that the Adam should follow a 3200 calorie food pattern (USDA, 2010). In that regard, although in both cases, i.e. 140 lbs and 168 lbs, Adams body mass index (BMI) fell within the normal range, where for 168 the BMI was 23.42, while for 140 the BMI was 19.52. Both indexes fall within the range of 18.5-24.9 which constitutes a normal weight classification (Fink, Burgoon, & Mikesky, 2009, p. 317). Nevertheless, it is the constant loss of weight in Adam’s case, which implies that the energy expenditures exceed the energy intake, causing the loss of weight over the period of six months. In that regard, the long terms maintenance of the energy balance is a crucial aspect, which importance exceeds the temporary gains in performance.
Another argument toward maintaining a healthy diet can be seen in that swimming falls within the range of strenuous activities, which consumes around 9-13 Kcal/min (Coulston & Boushey, 2008). Accordingly, being an endurance sports, it is important that the energy balance is maintained on a day-to-day basis. Thus, it can be stated that in order to maintain energy balance in such sports carbohydrate solutions are crucial in that matter. In that regard, the inclusion of grains in the diet proposed by Mypyramid plan can be understood. In that regard, specifying whole grain as a source of dietary fiber important to the athlete is important as well.
It should be noted that considering that the current diet proposed by MyPyramid plan implies maintaining the current weight, which is 140 lbs. The switch to high school team implies higher energy expenditures, where increasing the working load should be reflected in the diet as well. The intention to gain muscle mass back should be also reflected in the diet, where a reasonable rate of weight gain is 0.5 kg/wk. Such rate might require an additional kcal/day, “in addition to the energy required to maintain current body weight” (Sharlin & Edelstein, p. 165).
It could be argued that in the plan the proposed diet considers physical activities which are more than 60 minutes a day, while the training in professional sports might imply greater energy expenditures. Nevertheless, the 60 minute limit can be considered as the minimum required maintaining a healthy life style. Accordingly, the diet does indicate other factors that might be considered in the plan such the rate of growth, which imply that detailed analysis should be conducted regarding the estimated energy needs, corresponding to Adam’s activities and body parameters.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that despite the fact that the current weight of Adam falls within the normal range, his day-to-day energy balance is not stable. The latter is an essential factor in endurance sports such as swimming. The diet provided through MyPyramid plan estimated Adam’s daily needs of calories. However, a detailed analysis of estimated energy needs, considering the switch to school, might be required for a detailed individual diet, considering sport specific details
References
Coulston, A. M., & Boushey, C. (2008). Nutrition in the prevention and treatment of disease (2nd ed.). Amsterdam ; Boston: Academic Press.
Fink, H. H., Burgoon, L. A., & Mikesky, A. E. (2009). Practical applications in sports nutrition (2nd ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Sharlin, J., & Edelstein, S. Essentials of life cycle nutrition. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
USDA. (2010). MyPyramid Plan. United States Department of Agriculture. Web.