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Effect of meal frequency and timing on physical performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

John A. Hawley  and
Louise M. Burke
John A. Hawley
Affiliation:
MRC/UCT Bioenergetics of Exercise Research Unit, Department of Physiology, University of Cape Town Medical School, South Africa
Louise M. Burke
Affiliation:
Department of Sports Nutrition, Australian Institute of Sport, Belconnen ACT 2616, Australia
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Abstract

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Two areas of sports nutrition in which the periodicity of eating has been 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 physically-active person to improve their exercise performance in these areas. Frequent eating occasions provide a practical strategy allowing athletes 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 CHO ingestion promoting muscle and liver glycogen re-synthesis; pre-exercise feedings being practised to optimize substrate availability and feedings during exercise providing a readily-available source of exogenous fuel as endogenous stores become depleted. The timing and frequency of CHO intake at these various stages are crucial determinants for optimizing fuel availability to enhance exercise capacity.

Keywords

Meal frequencyMeal timingCarbohydrate intakePhysical performance
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 77 , Issue S1 , April 1997 , pp. S91 - S103
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1997

References

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