EFFECT OF MEAL FREQUENCY AND TIMING ON PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

Two areas of sports nutrition in which the periodicity of eating has b een studied relate to: (1) the habitually high energy intakes of many athletes, and (2) the optimization of carbohydrate (CHO) availability to enhance performance, The present paper examines how the timing and frequency of food and fluid intake can assist the athlete and physical ly-active person to improve their exercise performance in these areas, Frequent eating occasions provide a practical strategy allowing athle tes to increase energy intake while concomitantly reducing the gastric discomfort of infrequent large meals. The optimization of CHO stores is a special challenge for athletes undertaking prolonged training or competition sessions, This is a cyclical process with post-exercise CH O ingestion promoting muscle and liver glycogen re-synthesis; pre-exer cise feedings being practised to optimize substrate availability and f eedings during exercise providing a readily-available source of exogen ous fuel as endogenous stores become depleted, The timing and frequenc y of CHO intake at these various stages are crucial determinants for o ptimizing fuel availability to enhance exercise capacity.