Abstract
It is the position of Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) that exercise in hot and/or humid environments, or with significant clothing and/or equipment that prevents body heat loss (i.e.,exertional heat stress), provides significant challenges to an athlete's nutritional status, health, and performance. Exertional heat stress, especially when prolonged, can perturb thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems. Heat acclimation or acclimatization provides beneficial adaptations and should be undertaken where possible. Athletes should aim to begin exercise euhydrated. Furthermore, preexercise hyperhydration may be desirable in some scenarios and can be achieved through acute sodium or glycerol loading protocols. The assessment of fluid balance during exercise, together with gastrointestinal tolerance to fluid intake, and the appropriateness of thirst responses provide valuable information to inform fluid replacement strategies that should be integrated with event fuel requirements. Such strategies should also consider fluid availability and opportunities to drink, to prevent significant under- or overconsumption during exercise. Postexercise beverage choices can be influenced by the required timeframe for return to euhydration and co-ingestion of meals and snacks. Ingested beverage temperature can influence core temperature, with cold/icy beverages of potential use before and during exertional heat stress, while use of menthol can alter thermal sensation. Practical challenges in supporting athletes in teams and traveling for competition require careful planning. Finally, specific athletic population groups have unique nutritional needs in the context of exertional heat stress (i.e.,youth, endurance/ultra-endurance athletes, and para-sport athletes), and specific adjustments to nutrition strategies should be made for these population groups.
Highlights
Burke Australian Institute of Sport and Australian Catholic University. It is the position of Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) that exercise in hot and/or humid environments, or with significant clothing and/or equipment that prevents body heat loss, provides significant challenges to an athlete’s nutritional status, health, and performance
Numerous sporting competitions are regularly held in outdoor environments in such conditions including high-intensity endurance events (e.g., 10-km road races and half-marathons, cycling time trials), ultra-endurance events (e.g., Badwater Ultramarathon, Ironman World Championships, and Marathon des Sables), and team and racquet sports played during summer months
Prolonged exertional heat stress can perturb the thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems, posing significant concerns for an athlete’s health and performance. It is the position of Sports Dietitians Australia that exertional heat stress can significantly affect an athlete’s nutritional status, but careful planning and implementation of nutrition strategies can assist him or her to optimize health and performance outcomes in such conditions
Summary
Burke Australian Institute of Sport and Australian Catholic University It is the position of Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) that exercise in hot and/or humid environments, or with significant clothing and/or equipment that prevents body heat loss (i.e., exertional heat stress), provides significant challenges to an athlete’s nutritional status, health, and performance. Prolonged exertional heat stress can perturb the thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems, posing significant concerns for an athlete’s health and performance. It is the position of Sports Dietitians Australia that exertional heat stress can significantly affect an athlete’s nutritional status, but careful planning and implementation of nutrition strategies can assist him or her to optimize health and performance outcomes in such conditions. The following position statement summarizes these issues and the nutrition and hydration strategies with which they can be addressed
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