The Real Role of Sports Nutritionists?

My professor brought up a great point in class tonight. She noted that many athletes consume high amounts of what she called “white bread” type carbohydrates (ie white bread, white pasta, white pizza crust ect). She recommended that as a sports nutritionist one may want to encourage athletes to consume as many whole grain products in place of the less nutritious “white bread” products. This got me thinking about the responsibilities of a sports nutritionist. Is the only responsibility of these specialized health professionals, to create a diet that will help the athlete perform at his highest capabilities? Or should these nutritionists also try to teach dietary habits and behaviors that will last the athletes long past their playing days?

The point my professor brought up is a great example of how to encourage a dietary habit that would benefit the athlete later in life. To explain briefly, carbohydrates play a major role in the diets of athletes. Glucose from the carbohydrates acts as the main source of fuel and keeps the Central Nervous System working properly. An athlete would become both mentally and physically fatigued very quickly if a high amount of glucose was not stored in their body. This is one reason why many athletes may “carb load” the night before an event. Now from a performance perspective, carbs are carbs. White pasta, wheat pasta, they are both carbohydrates and will help keep athletes energized during their event. But from a nutrition perspective, wheat and whole grain will always nutritionally dominate over the equivalent white foods.

Speaking from the experience of a former high school athlete and from the friend of many college athletes, all we knew were that foods were important to keep energy elevated. Because of the great shape of many athletes, the types of foods played a less significant role on a regular basis. I can recall downing multiple pieces of S’barro’s cheese pizza from the rest area after especially tiring cross country meets. In college, I remember looking over at the table of swimmers and seeing piles upon piles of pizza, lasagna, and Belgian waffles. Obviously, nutrition was not the top priority in any of these situations.

If athletes, especially at the high school and college level, are only taught that they need carbohydrates and not the RIGHT carbohydrates, they may be in for a shock once their careers are over. Continuing a competitive athlete’s diet once that lifestyle has ended, will only lead to future weight gain and an unhealthy lifestyle in the future.

So the question remains, should a sports nutritionist solely be concerned with helping an athlete perform better while not damaging his current health? Or should they also be attempting to build a nutritional framework for these athletes to follow after their careers have ended?