HUN Chapter 13 Nutrition and Physical Activity PDF

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Physical Activity Recommendations, Exercise and Energy Metabolism, Energy and Nutrient Needs for Physical Activity, Fluid Needs for Physical Activity, Food and Drink to Maximise Performance, Ergogenetic Acids: Do Supplements Enhance Athletic Performance?,...

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Laydette Figuera

CHAPTER 13 Nutrition and Physical Activity 13.1 Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Health Nutrition, physical activity, and health are all correlated. Our goal should be to maintain a balance that is most beneficial for our health. Believe it or not, these three could have a domino effect. For example, physical activity burns calories and utilizes nutrients that are supplied by our diet. Furthermore, our level of physical activity improves our f itness level which is our endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, and body composition. Regular exercise leads to the overload principle this means that we can last for more minutes, stretch a bit further, and lift more weight. Again regular exercise improves our overall fitness. One type of physical activity includes a erobic exercise which includes running, swimming, dancing, or riding your bike; These physical activities increase our heart rate and the need to distribute oxygen to our muscles. Aerobic exercises also improve our c ardiorespiratory endurance, therefore improve our heart muscle. Along with this, aerobic exercise improves the heart's s troke volume, this is how much blood the heart pumps with each beat. The more blood, the more oxygen that is supplied throughout the body. All of these benefits lead to a lower resting heart rate, which is great for us because it means that the heart can pump more blood to muscles during exercise. Furthermore, Regular aerobic exercise increases the muscle’s ability to use oxygen to produce ATP. The body’s maximum ability to generate ATP by aerobic metabolism during exercise is called aerobic capacity, or VO2 max. The greater our aerobic capacity is, the more intense activity levels we can perform. Another form of physical activity is muscle strengthening and endurance exercises, these increase our muscle endurance and our ability to do repetitive muscle activity. Some activities under this category are lifting weights, or doing squats, or push-ups. The process of muscles adapting by increasing size and strength is hypertrophy. The opposite is when we stop using our muscles known as atrophy. We  could also work on improving flexibility and balance through yoga and stretching. Exercising can improve our overall well- being, can reduce the risk for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. 13.2 Physical Activity Recommendations Currently, doctors recommend that adults get a minimum of 150 minutes per week of physical activity of moderate-intensity. Of course, exercising more regularly and higher intensity is more beneficial it is important to know our maximum heart rate which is how many beats per minute our heart can attain; this is all dependant on age and gender. For children, it is a minimum of 60 minutes per day and should include muscle strengthening as well as bone strengthening. The best activities are the ones that we enjoy, thus if you enjoy running or dancing do those, if you enjoy group activities find local group classes and such. There is such a thing as over-exercising, this is known as the overtraining syndrome. There are many symptoms that may present themselves that indicate you are overworking, like fatigue, mood disturbance, and a decline in performance.

13.3 Exercise and Energy Metabolism Our body runs on the energy we obtain from the nutrients we eat but before we can use them they must be converted into ATP. We can make ATP through both a erobic and anaerobic metabolism even by anaerobic glycolysis. During the first 15 seconds of exercise ATP in muscles is used and enzymes break down creatine phosphate in  muscles to  replenish ATP supply and allow activity to continue for 2 to 3 minutes. Then ATP is generated by anaerobic metabolism of glucose and lasts for a few minutes. Then, ATP is generated by aerobic metabolism which is much more efficient because it can use glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids as energy supplies. if oxygen isn’t available lactic acid builds up. If we engage in short term high-intensity activities, ATP is generated mainly from the anaerobic metabolism of glucose stored in muscle glycogen. These activities quickly deplete glycogen and cause fatigue. If you do low-intensity exercises for long periods of time aerobic metabolism predominates with glucose and fatty acids as fuel sources. As mentioned in 13.1 aerobic exercise increases oxygen delivery and increases glycogen stores, which allows aerobic exercise to be sustained for longer periods at a higher intensity. 13.4 Energy and Nutrient Needs for Physical Activity The amount of energy we need to do activities depend on the intensity, duration, and frequency of the activities. There is an amount of energy required for different activity levels. This is called Estimate Energy Required (EER) the higher intensity an activity is the more EER. Often times people seek to lose weight to improve their performance levels, little do they know that it can lead to unhealthy weight loss and eating disorders. An athlete that restricts food intake may develop r elative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S), this is a combination of low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone density. A way to increase body weight and muscle mass is adequate protein consumption, resistance exercise, and higher intakes of energy. The body’s primary source of energy is carbohydrates, it’s important during exercise since it fuels the brain and muscles as we workout. The dietary recommendations of it may vary between people, unlike fat recommendations which are more standard. Athletes do need more protein in their diet to maintain and repair muscle and other lean tissues. Another component of our diet that’s crucial is vitamins and minerals which are needed to produce ATP, maintain and repair tissues, and transport oxygen and wastes to and from cells. People who restrict their food intake may at risk for deficiency. For female athletes, iron needs as higher since they are at a greater iron loss due to their physical activity. Iron deficiency anemia should not be confused with Sports anemia which is a temporary decrease in hemoglobin concentration that occurs during exercise. Athletes are also at risk of deficiencies of antioxidant nutrients, calcium, and vitamin D. 13.5 Fluid Needs for Physical Activity

We need to consume body regularly, but more so when we exercise because it cools down our bodies and because we need to make sure that nutrients and oxygen can be delivered to body tissues. If we exercise too much and don’t consume sufficient water, we can become dehydrated, have lower physical performance, and have an increased risk of heart illness. As we exercise, we lose water as sweat and from evaporation through the lungs. Dehydration risks are higher when temperature and humidity are elevated. Furthermore, if we choose to exercise in warm weather, we could have heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and even suffer heatstroke. Additionally, exercising in cold weather could lead to Hypothermia which is more common in children because of greater surface area per unit of body weight. If we drink plain water with no additional vitamins or electro lights during extended exercise, we have a risk of h yponatremia which is a low concentration of sodium in the blood. This is why adequate fluid intake before exercise ensures that athletes begin to exercise well hydrated. If you exercise for 45 minutes or less, plain water is appropriate. Drinks with carbs and sodium are recommended for exercise lasting longer than 45 minutes. 13.6 Food and Drink to Maximise Performance It’s important to know how to prepare efficiently to maximize your performance for any sort of physical activity. An athlete may benefit from a dietary regimen called glycogen super-compensation (carbohydrate loading), which maximizes glycogen stores before an event. Meals eaten before competition should help ensure adequate hydration, provide some protein, many carbs, low in fat and fiber, and lastly something that psychologically satisfy the athlete. Food should only be eaten if exercise will last beyond 45 minutes. If exercise lasts more than an hour a sodium-containing food or drink should be added to prevent hyponatremia, improve glucose and water absorption, and stimulate thirst. After competition of such magnitude, a meal that replenishes electro lights, fluids, provides carbs to restore muscle glycogen, and protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and repair. 13.7 Ergogenetic Acids: Do Supplements Enhance Athletic Performance? Often times you hear of athletes that use supplements to enhance their athletic performance, whether it is strength or resistance. There re many forms of ergogenic aids that are marketed to improve athletic performance. Before anyone consumes such supplements there should be an individual risk-benefit analysis to determine whether a supplement is appropriate to consume. For example, when questioning if you should take a vitamin supplement ask yourself if you need it, check with your healthcare provider. Athletes for example usually consume a diet that meets their needs so they wouldn’t need a vitamin supplement. For those who are trying to build muscle, protein supplements are quite popular. Adequate protein is needed to support muscle growth and repair, but dietary protein can often meet these needs as effectively as the protein provided by supplements. Furthermore, there are anabolic steroids combined with resistancetraining exercise increases muscle size and strength, but such supplements are illegal and have dangerous side effects. Many athletes have been suspended because of such supplements. Some

supplements that have been shown to improve performance in short-duration, high-intensity exercise are creatine and β - alanine. Additionally, caffeine use can improve performance in endurance activities. EPO increases endurance by boosting the number of red blood clotting, heart attacks, and strokes. Also, a healthy diet is needed to optimize athletic performance. Beverages and foods that supply fluids and energy can further enhance performance, and there are a few supplements that benefit specific activities. Important Information

13.6 Knowing about food and drink that maximize performance is important for me because it enables me to be aware of how to properly prepare for any exercise that I may do. For example, I like to run for long periods of time. I often go for a run and I run a mile and a half. I do this with 1-minute rests once in a while. I drink water when I go home but I never think of having a snack or a drink with electro lights or water. This taught me the risks of dehydration and the benefits of having the proper snack or drink after I exercise. When speaking in a wider sense people need to be aware of the benefits that come from engaging in regular exercise. I was shocked when I read on the CDC website that 2018 only 25.4% of adults in the U.S engaged in no leisure-time physical activity. This a very low percentage. If only people knew the benefits exercising could bring. Imagine, simply them knowing that it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and even forms of cancer would motivate them to get out of their sedentary conditions. Additionally, in 2018 only 25.4 % of adults engaged in no leisure-time physical activity.

Another very important piece of information is that nutrition, physical activity, and health are intertwined. One of them falling short could negatively impact our health. I’ve always known that poor nutrition could affect health. But After this chapter, I learned in greater detail about how different form of exercise benefits our fitness. For example, as I mentioned I love to go on

runs. I knew that aerobic exercise would benefit my cardiovascular endurance but I didn’t know how exactly. Also, I never do any form of muscle training exercises. I now take more into account how beneficial it can be! I will definitely try to include this form of exercise in my life. Now, on a wider view, I’ve seen first hand how children don’t go out to play and prefer to stay home and play video games. After doing some research on the CDC website I saw that in 2017 only 26.1% of Adolescents in the U.S are meeting aerobic physical activity guidelines of 60 minutes a day. I knew that less and less children would go out and play but I never imagined it would be so low. There is a clear correlation between overweight children and higher cases recorded of children with diabetes. This is not only happening in America, all over the world children are putting down their bicycles and sports balls and staying home the majority of their day.

Finally, I want to discuss the prevalence of supplement use. I’ll start with its roke in my life, I enjoy exercising and have consumed protein shakes on a regular basis. After reading 13.7 I wonder if I should stop consuming protein shakes and rely on protein-rich foods like chicken or eggs. I have family members that wish to take protein shakes because they know that it can help them build muscle but they don’t want to exercise. They fall for that miss conception that it will magically happen if they consume protein supplements, I tell them that if they do so they will gain weight because they are not burning any extra calories. When it comes to supplements role world wide. Many people seem to have the same miss conception about protein supplements. They see advertising of fit people enjoying a protein shake and they think it’s a magical weight loss technique. People should stop relying on such supplements and techniques and simply put in

the work.  According to the CDC in 2017 44.8% of middle-aged adults in the U.S, 40 to 59 years are overweight. Of course, this isn’t do to supplements, But it simply shows that people need to lose weight. 44.8% of middle-aged people in a country is a lot....