As a personal trainer, clients will seek your guidance on nutrition for health, performance, and body composition. This topic will provide an overview of what nutrition is and why it's important for trainers to understand, look energy in and energy out (a fundamental concept of nutrition), and the Ministry of Health guidelines for healthy eating.
Nutrition is about what makes up the food we eat, how this affects the body, and how we can use nutrition practices to improve health outcomes and reduce the risk of disease. Sports nutrition applies nutrition principles to optimise sporting performance, weight management, and overall health in athletic populations.
Nutrition plays a crucial role in our overall health and wellbeing. Essential nutrients support optimal physiological processes such as muscle contractions, digestion, eyesight, and cellular signalling. Without adequate nutrition, the body is at risk of disease and decreased overall functioning.
Why do personal trainers look at nutrition?
We look at nutrition to support our clients with:
- Health
- Performance
- Body composition
Some groups may fall under more than one category. Think back to what you know about non-communicable diseases. Diet is a major cause of health loss in New Zealand and a key contributor to cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 1 in 3 deaths in New Zealand and is the leading cause of death in women globally (Heart Foundation, 2021).
It is important to remember the significance of adequate food consumption and discuss this information with your client when working with them to achieve their health and fitness goals. Good nutrition assists in leading a healthy lifestyle. When good nutrition and physical activity are combined, it can help to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and promote overall health and wellness.
Body composition and health
Body composition is directly related to nutrition and can result in various health conditions linked to being overweight or underweight.
Health conditions associated with excess weight:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Hypertension
- Metabolic syndrome
- Some cancers
- Musculoskeletal conditions
- Respiratory conditions
- Sleep apnoea
- Gall bladder disease
- Hernia
- Reproductive disorders
- Urinary incontinence
- Fatty liver disease
- Depression and other mental health conditions
Many obesity-related health conditions are preventable and reversible through healthy eating, an active lifestyle, and weight loss.
Health conditions associated with being underweight:
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Anorexia nervosa
- Binge eating
- Osteoporosis
- Decreased muscle strength
- Hypothermia
- Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies
- Anemia
- Reproductive disorders
- Decreased immune function
- Developmental/growth delays (in children)
- Depression and other mental health conditions
Fitness professionals are not expected to be experts in these health conditions. However, you may become familiar with some of the common symptoms through your studies and work and therefore may be able to recognise when a client should be referred to a suitable medical or allied health professional.
Alternatively, you may work with clients already diagnosed with one or more of these conditions. In this case, the client will likely have a medical or allied health professional already. You may be able to work alongside these professionals to help develop the fitness component of the client's wellness plan.
So, now that we know why it is important to understand nutrition, what do we need to know?
To understand nutrition guidelines and principles, it is first important to understand the relationship food has with energy - the concept of energy in and energy out.
