Relationship Between Dietary Supplements And Optimum Performance In Sports:

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Sports have been regarded as an integral part of the society. According to Sage, (2007) sports can also be described as activities involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or for the purpose of entertainment. Sports may have the tendency if well organized to change the entire human personality (whole-man) through active and passive participation. Such components of personality that sports are capable of transforming include: physical, social, moral, mental, and emotional (Agbomi, 2012).

Sports can be termed as well organized and institutionalized physical activities with structured programmes governed with rules and regulations (Edim 2011). In other words, Odigbo (2000) sees sports as a form of education through a well planned programme of physical activities enhances endurance, fitness, optimum speed and flexibility that aims at meeting with maximum development of the whole individual (physically, socially, mentally, morally and emotionally). This is to say that optimum performance in sport involves the development of a well integrated individual having a sound mind in a healthy body, who is also socially sound living within the recommended dietary supplement.

Physical fitness is a physiological state of well-being that provides the foundation for the tasks of daily living, a degree of protection against chronic disease and a basis for participation in sport. In essence, physical fitness describes a set of attributes relating to how well one performs physical activity. For an individual to continually improve their physical fitness, there must be gradual progressive overload in the amount of physical activity. Hence, Regular physical activity is one of the most important things one can do for his/her health.

Physical fitness is a general state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise, physical activity and sufficient rest (Tremblay, Colley, Saunders, Healy and Owen, (2010). It is important to make the distinction between health-related physical fitness and athletic performance physical fitness. Health-related physical fitness refers specifically to those components of physical fitness associated with some aspect of good health and/or disease and not necessarily sports performance (Malina, 2010).

On the other hand, athletic performance physical fitness is that portion of physical fitness directed towards optimizing performance in a certain sport – each sport will require a balance of different facets of fitness for optimal performance. For example, gymnastics requires a high degree of agility and flexibility whereas competitive long distance swimming requires a high degree of aerobic fitness. The adaptations within the body as a result of training for specific sports will almost always confer significant health benefits also on the athletes concerned (Juhn, 2003).

Dietary supplements refers to any “product” intended to supplement the diet that contains one or more dietary ingredients such as; vitamins, minerals, herbs, meal supplements, sports nutrition products, natural food supplements, and other related products used to boost the nutritional content of the diet (Burke, Cort and Cox, 2006). The human daily meals are not enough to boost our strength in intense sports activities. Sports supplements can provide an easy way to improve our health and build and maintain muscle mass, endurance, and power. Using carbohydrate diets containing electrolytes can hydrate the body during sporting events. Injury prevention and enhanced recovery are important benefits of using sports nutrition supplements (Dickson, 2002).

Many athletes use different dietary supplements for a variety of reasons especially to boost optimum performance. Among the most popular products are ergogenic aids such as sports drinks, minerals, caffeine, Coenzyme Q10, and creatine to enhance physical performance and to tolerate pain (Naylor, Gardner, and Zaichkowsky, 2004). Optimizing training through provision of well-timed nutrients and/or use of various effective nutritional guides can help optimize performance and/or training adaptations as adequate nutritional is characterized with good alertness, excellent natured personality, a well-developed body, with normal weight for height… Chapter one continues