Nutrition at the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games
FIONA PELLY
NSW State Director of Sports Dietitians Australia and a PhD student in the Human Nutrition Unit,
University of Sydney

This article was supported by the AIFST Nutrition Group in the interest of raising awareness of nutrition issues in the food industry.

Although the importance of nutrition to athletic performance is now widely accepted, many athletes fail to achieve the best dietary intake for optimal performance. Most athletes understand the principles of sports nutrition, however many have trouble choosing appropriate foods. This may be due to a lack of knowledge about food and the practical constraints of constant travel, heavy training schedules and competition.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of international sporting competition and therefore the dietary intake of athletes is of paramount importance to their performance. An inappropriate diet can lead to decreased performance, poor concentration and fatigue. Despite this information, little is known about the dietary intake of athletes at an Olympic Games. This may be due to the logistical limitations associated with collecting data from these athletes. Busy schedules, eating pre-prepared food and focus on competition may contribute to the difficulties in accurately recording food intake.

Spotless Services Limited, an official caterer of the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, have provided information about the Olympic menu and allocated room for a nutrition kiosk in the Olympic Village dining hall. This provides the unique opportunity to investigate the suitability of the Olympic menu and study the dietary intake of elite athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Olympic Village Menu

Spotless Services Ltd approached the Human Nutrition Unit at the University of Sydney to assist with:

Provision of a menu suitable for the needs of all athletes from a range of cultural and religious backgrounds.

• Nutritional analysis of each item on the Olympic menu
• Development of a menu labelling system to provide information about the macronutrient content of each dish
• Design of a web site to house the Olympic menu.

Over the past few months, each menu item has undergone careful nutritional analysis and dietary assessment. This was not a simple task and took a lot longer than anticipated! To begin with, a dietary analysis database was developed to allow a dynamic link to the web site. This means that any change the caterers make to the menu can be reflected on the web site instantaneously.

The second step was to code all 1070 items and classify them according to dietary categories. The items were primarily coded from Australian food composition data (AUSNUT), however US food composition data (USDA) was accessed when necessary.

The Web Site

The Olympic nutrition web site can be viewed at www.nutr.biochem.usyd.edu.au. The search tools available on the site allow the viewer to search for specific menu items or to view all foods available on a particular day. A search can also be done for all dishes excluding a certain ingredient (such as meat) or for specific dietary and religious requirements (eg halal). The athlete can also search for dishes based on their macronutrient composition (eg high carbohydrate, low fat).

Other features of the web site include ‘ask a sports dietitian’, sample meal plans for athletes and sports nutrition information written by Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA). There is the opportunity to fill out a feedback form and questionnaire about the menu.

The menu labeling sytem

A menu labeling system has been designed to assist athletes to plan their pre-competition diet. The macronutrient content of each menu item is represented by a series of symbols. Each of these symbols represents either 420kJ of energy, 15g of carbohydrate, 10g of protein or 5g of fat. An athlete can use these symbols to choose dishes that will make up their daily requirement for carbohydrate, protein, fat and total energy. The menu label will be displayed with the numerical analysis of the food item both on the web site and above the bain marie of each dish in the dining hall.

The Nutrition Kiosk

A nutrition kiosk, staffed by members of SDA, will be available within the Olympic Village dining hall. The kiosk will house a number of computer terminals that will have access to the menu database. Sports dietitians will be able to use the database to provide athletes with information about the menu, including dietary analysis. Information can be tailored to suit the athlete’s queries and a print out supplied at their request.

There will also be an area set up in the kiosk for the purpose of recording the dietary intake of athletes. Estimated serves of each item on the athlete’s plate will be entered into a database by use of a touch screen computer. A visual record will be recorded with a digital camera. The aim is to investigate what athletes from a range of sports and countries consume pre-competition. Athletes can register for the study on-line, however it is anticipated that most will be recruited from the kiosk.

This project will help in the understanding of the nutritional needs of athletes at an Olympic Games.

Fiona Pelly is NSW State Directorr of Sports Dietitians Australia and a PhD student in the Human Nutrition Unit, University of Sydney, email f.pelly@biochem.usyd.edu.au

Article courtesy of Food Australia, September 2000