An overview of weight loss during Competitive Sport AgeActive competitive sports entail a constant practice of Exercise to ensure keeping fit at all time. Functional exercise is administered to ensure perfect strength for competition, to balance various body functions. Early exercise practices result in a good recovery for a beginner in sporting activities.
A retiring athlete is faced with the challenges of post-weight loss feedback effect resulting from years of weight regulation and control through nutrition watching and regular exercise.Athletes normally require an increased intake of calories relative to non-athletes. This is dependent on the body’s height, weight, Body mass index, age the sex the stage of growth and the fitness level characterized of the sporting involved. Often times people take weight management into their own hand and render their whole loss unfit. (Astrand P.O.
1992)Studies have shown that the physical look had a relatively low influence on performance. Professional handling of weight loss is recommended in the sense that only the fat are burnt off without reduction in the lean muscle mass which may cause dystrophy or atrophy. Uncontrolled weight loss will rapidly result in a significant reduction in the lean muscle mass affecting an athletes’ whole efficiency. The uninformed athletes would rather face the poor out come on non-performance.
Weight loss reduction is recommended not to be more than 1.5 percent of the total body weight (1.5%). Averaging about 1 to 2lb per week (Fox, Matthew, 1976;37 pp332 –339)Over 14,700kJ of calories would require burning 1lb of fat in a controlled weight loss. An appropriate nutrition for an active athlete usually consists of about 8400kJ per day. This gives a rounding of 55% to 65% of carbohydrate in a diet, 15% to 20% calories from protein and the remaining 20 to 30% calories as fat in a standard diet.
It is professionally advice to rather maintain a certain level of weight to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases with higher metabolic rates (154.6 kJ/m2 per hour)Unhealthy Weight Gain Practice This is a common challenge to athletes who have reached the peak of their career, retiring into other activities. They have lost the usual consciousness of weight watch and the expended energy per day is drastically reduced. Overweight post-athletes are embattled with a high risk of hypercholesterolemia, obstructive and non-obstructive gall bladder disease, wide ranges of cardiovascular diseases, malignant and benign hypertension, and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.Some athletes in their active season before retiring, are addicted to the use of certain supplements that minimizes weight gain and enhance competitive performance, their later life do no longer require the supplements, hence, predisposition to overweight.
Some athletes have their weight controlled earlier in life after professional evaluation of their genetic composition, this form the basis for keep-fit prescription. A career out of competitive sporting would equally require a second professional consultation which many decline. Hence, unhealthy weight gains results.Towards a Healthy Weight Gain 1. A healthy weight gain would entail the placement of essential nutritional needs for adequate growth and development without food starving.
A retiring athlete would still require the counsel of physicians’ services in area of dietary assistance 2. All medical check up should include a weight history and a feeding description, any previous anti-dietary practice, and generally any significant factors noticed in the past to have contributed to weight loss or weight gain. 3. A retiring athlete needs employing physicians to report signs and symptoms of eating disorder early enough (e.g dysphagia, orthinophagia). This is required for nutritional and physiological assessment.
4. They should avoid ergogenic self prescription and non-therapeutic use of supplements. 5. There should be no attempt to gain weight on emergency need.
Early attempt should be made to allow for gradual and guided growth rate. After which the fluctuation should be discouraged.Physiological Benefits in avoiding Unhealthy Weight GainDiverse range of diseases in medicine is connected to overweight and obesity. These Range from heart problem, brain problem to circulatory system dysfunction.
For females, uncontrolled weight gain leading to obesity is a proven risk factor predisposing uterine fibroid, menstrual disorder and fertility. The survival life span is enhanced when a patient continually keep fit owing to a lowering blood pressure with a modest weight. Physiological researches equally show that asthmatic patient with about 31lb weight loss over a year is a demonstration of an improved lung function. Reduced or moderate weight assists diabetic patient in limiting the recommended drugs (Horswill CA, Hickner 2003; :pp470 –476)Several recent large prospective studies suggest that intentional weight loss is associated with decreased mortality (Williamson D.
F., 1995 pp1128-41). A study of about 45,000 women was any effort aimed at intentional weight loss yielded a huge health benefits in the long run. “In this study, women who intentionally lost weight had a 40-50% decrease in deaths from obesity-related cancers and a 30-40% decrease in death from type II Diabetes Mellitus.
In another study of about 50,000 men, a plus of 32-36% showed decline in death from Diabetes Mellitus. This test was conducted among men with health problems who intentionally lost weight (Williamson D.F., 1995, Epidemiology 1999; pp149:491-503.).”
