Preface
xv
At an international Consensus Conference held
in 1991 at the offices of the International Olympic
Committee in Lausanne, a small group of experts
conducted a comprehensive review of the avail-
able information and concluded that ‘Diet sig-
nificantly influences athletic performance’. This
statement is unequivocal: what we eat and drink,
how much we consume and when it is consumed
can all have positive or negative effects on per-
formance in training and in competition. For
the athlete striving to succeed at the highest
level and training to the limits of what can be
tolerated, this offers an avenue that cannot be
ignored. Choosing the right foods will not make
the mediocre performer into a world beater, but a
poor choice of diet will certainly prevent all ath-
letes from realizing their full potential. This may
not be a major concern for the recreational ath-
lete or for the ‘weekend warrior’ who train and
compete for enjoyment and for the health bene-
fits that exercise participation confers. For the
committed athlete, however, there seems little
point in taking other aspects of performance seri-
ously and neglecting diet.
In spite of the importance of diet for health as
well as for athletic performance, there are many
popular misconceptions, and this reflects in part
the limited availability of reliable information.
Until recently, there were few books on sports
nutrition available to the coach and athlete or
to the scientist with an interest in this area, but
several have been published in the last decade.
Few of these, however, have encompassed the
whole breadth of the subject from the basic
science to the practical issues that affect training
and competition. In keeping with the format of
the previous volumes in this series and with the
concept that is implied by the term encyclopae-
dia, this volume has attempted to do that. It
brings together sports nutrition—the underlying
science that allows identification of nutritional
goals—and sports dietetics—the practical appli-
cation of that science on an individual basis to
define the eating strategies that will allow
athletes to achieve those goals. This aim has
been made possible by the enthusiastic participa-
tion in the preparation of this book by leading
experts, including both scientists and practi-
tioners, from around the world who have con-
tributed to the 51 chapters of this book. In many
cases, individual chapters are the result of a col-
laborative effort involving authors from more
than one country, bringing a true international
perspective. This reflects the international
dimension of science and the sense of shared
purpose among those who work in this field.
Although there is an element of competition in
science, it is not parochial and the knowledge
it generates is available to all. The depth and
breadth of the expertise of these authors makes
that knowledge available and serves to empha-
size those areas where there is a broad consensus
of opinion, and to pinpoint areas of uncertainty
where more information is required.
The contents of this book are divided into four
sections, each emphasizing different aspects of
the art and science of sports nutrition. The first,
and largest, section covers the basic science that