Besides regular physical exercise, a proper and correct nutrition is vital for a good sports performance in any sporting field. Thus, athletes must understand the required nutritional intake they need to take daily to maintain their performance.
This paper is a response to the “Nutrient intake, serum lipids and iron status of colligiate rugby players” research done by Imamura et al. (2013).
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The main objective of this article was to gather standard information regarding nutritional intake of rugby players to guide them about nutritional behaviors that can improve their performance and to compare iron status, lecithin, apolipoproteins, lipoproteins, and serum lipids of rugby forwards and backs (Imamura et al., 2013). The key question that the authors are addressing is what nutritional requirements rugby players require to perform better. The most important information in this article is that forwards and backs are the two playing positions in rugby sport. Players in the two positions engage in different activities, for instance forwards engage in tackling, running, muscular performance and physical impact while backs engage in some tackling, running and speed. Thus, forwards and backs have different physical features, for instance forwards have high body fat to protect them during physical contact while the backs have low body fat to allow them to run faster (Imamura et al., 2013).. Thus, players in the two positions require different nutritional intake to meet their performance needs.
The main inferences in this study are that for the forwards, body mass is higher than the backs. Both players should increase their intake of carbohydrates and protein to ensure they perform better and develop LBM. Besides, both players should increase their vitamin and mineral intake by consuming more fruits, dairy products, milk, greens and other vegetables (Imamura et al., 2013). The key concepts we need to understand in the study are that the forwards have a high body weight, suprailiac skinfold thickness, sub-scapular, biceps brachii, waist circumference, BMI, LBM and percentage fat than the backs. The backs, on the other hand, have a lower high body weight, LBM, skinfold thickness, brachii, triceps, and BMI (Imamura et al., 2013). By these concepts, the authors mean that in rugby sufficient intake of carbohydrate is vital to maintaining muscle glycogen levels when training and when competing. Intake of carbohydrate by forwards and backs differ in which backs consume less carbohydrates than the forwards (6.3±2.8 g/kg and 6.5±1.9 g/kg of their body weight correspondingly) because of their different body weights. Both players should consume an equal amount of protein (approximately1.4 g/kg per day) (Imamura et al., 2013). Both players should also meet vitamins and mineral intake requirements by consuming a balanced low-fat, moderate protein and high carbohydrate diet.
The main assumptions underlying the authors’ thinking are that forwards engage in higher physical contact and impact while the backs engage mostly in running fast and thus forwards must consume more carbohydrates and iron to increase their physical strength while the backs should consume fewer carbohydrates and iron to maintain a lean body that can run faster. If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are that forwards and backs would consume the required amounts of nutrients. In turn, this would ensure that each performs their roles effectively during training and when competing. If we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are that rugby players would not experience nutritional problems, which would adversely affect their performance.
In conclusion, the main points of view presented in this study are that forwards have different body features than the backs. Forwards and backs also engage in different activities during play, which means that they also have slightly different nutritional requirements. Generally, forwards have a greater body mass than the backs and thus consume more carbohydrates than the backs. Protein consumption and the consumption of vitamins and minerals should also harmonize with the energy requirements of forwards and backs.
Reference
Imamura, H., Iide, K., Yoshimura, Y., Kumagai, K., Oshikata, R., Miyahara, K., ... & Nakazawa, A. (2013). Nutrient intake, serum lipids and iron status of colligiate rugby players. Journal of the International Society of sports Nutrition , 10 (1), 9.
