2nd IAAF Int’l Consensus Conference Nutrition for Athletics

One of the goodies from the USATF 2007 National Podium Education Project was a handout and/or CD from the IAAF 2nd International Consensus Conference on “Nutrition for Athletics” in Monaco from April 18-20 2007. (You were only allowed to take the CD or booklet!)

The stated aim of the conference was to help shape the priorities of both the IAAF Medical and Anti-Doping Commission and the International Olympic Committee’s working group on nutrition over the next few years. The presentation and discussion of papers prepared by expert teams in 12 key areas reflected the research and advancements in knowledge that have taken place since the first IAAF conference on this topic in 1995.

At the end of the conference, a statement integrating the presentations was issued called “Nutrition for Athletics: The 2007 Consensus Statement of the IAAF”.

The conclusion?

“Well-chosen foods will help athletes train hard, reduce risk of illness and injury, and achieve their performance goals”.

However, “individualization” was probably the most used word at the conference, spanning almost all the presentations. The participants seemed to agree that the amount of energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, micronutrients and water in the foods eaten by athletes should be according to individual needs. General recommendations can be made, but these should be implemented on a case by case basis, according to the athlete’s stage of maturation, sex, genetic factors, training stimuli and environmental factors as well as information gained from monitoring body composition, blood (iron) parameters, sweat loss, etc.

If you wish to download this handy Grams and Calorie Calculator for Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat, click here for the Excel spreadsheet.

Copies of the CD and booklet are available from the IAAF website www.iaaf.org

This is part 1 of 14 in a series from the 2007 2nd IAAF International Consensus Conference “Nutrition for Athletics”