NutrifyToday Academy

Indian Performance Nutrition- An Overview

“ 98..99…100! Uh-huh are these dumbbells taking a troll on you, or feel like your legs have a mind of their own that they don’t let you run any further?  Well that was bound to happen!”

“No, No! Don’t get disheartened we have a right solution for this – A perfect sports diet recommended by our very own sports nutritionists.”

Sports Nutrition is the study practice of nutrition and diet which is concerned with an athlete’s performance. Nutrition plays a vital role in many sports like; weightlifting, bodybuilding, cycling, swimming and so on. Sports nutrition subjects its scrutiny on the types and quality of fluids and foods taken by an athlete. It includes the consumption of various vitamins, minerals, supplements and organic substances consisting of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

So now that we’ve seen what wonders sports nutrition does, so my swimmers lets take a dive into the vast world of sports nutrition.

Globally Sports Nutrition is roughly $20-25 Billion and is still at an incipient stage in India.

CURRENT SPORTS NUTRITION MARKET IN INDIA.

In accordance with Euromonitor International, sports nutrition in India is worth INR 1376 Crores, expected to grow at 22.8%. This market is divided into 3 fragments- Sports Food, Sports Drinks and Sports Supplements.

Mainly Protein Supplements that include Whey protein and protein Isolates contributes 70% to the overall consumption in this fragment. Sports Non-protein consists of products that do not have protein as its key ingredient. This can be used to repair muscles.

According to the experts Food/ Supplements are acquiring approval in Indian market. Top few nutrition brands of India are: Bigmuscles Nutrition Frotein, Healthkart, MuscleXP Men Daily Vital Energy. Apart from the above mentioned brand Guardian Healthcare is the largest health and wellness supplements retailers in India which is well known for their customer centric mindset.

Now I’m sure you’re going to say “Oh my God this covid…. no no, hold your thoughts, for once covid has a positive impact and we don’t have to be scared of it.

During the pandemic too people have consumed sports nutrients to improve their immune system.

From the research we can conclude that CAGR pre covid-19 was 8.6% and post covid-19 it is 12.9% .

While focusing on reaching to the top the sports nutrition industry has faced a lot of challenges some of which are – lack of proper nutritional education, misinterpretation about healthy and nutritious foods by the media targeting school going children which can be utterly precarious, availability of cheap and counterfeit products create challenges for the sports nutrition manufacturers hence, restricting their growth in market. A rush in the production costs of protein supplements creates challenges for the development of the market in surfacing economies. Changing Lifestyle patterns leading to changes in tastes and preferences of the market. Allocation of resources and availability of labour on the right time and place, and fake products promising fast results.

I know these challenges have got your minds into twist but worry not my dear readers just sit back and read onto the measures which can be undertaken to face these challenges effectively.

Teenage is a time of change- a person goes through a lot of changes both mentally and physically during this time of his life and having a proper diet to accompany this change is a necessity. Teenage is a phase of rapid growth thus a proper nutritious meal should be handy to achieve their goals. Keeping in mind the above said points sports nutrition industry can provide sport nutrition education to improve eating behaviors for sport performance, health, and chronic disease prevention.

The industry should focus on marketing their products to spread awareness among the rural areas of the country. It can use campaigns and other modes of marketing.

To decrease the production costs of the products the industry should plan and organize their work. The Producer should focus on How To Use?, When To Use? and What To use?

As the quality of a product is the top most priority the regulatory committees should thoroughly check the product safety and quality.

The sales of our country and the efforts put in by the industry are not balanced thus there’s a need of implementing the guidelines for nutraceuticals which in-turn will bring a lot of clarity. Use of ingredients other than the recommended ones may lead to a set back of the brands sales. Usage of low-quality herbs and raw materials which may lead to change in the over all quality and formula of the product is also a concern to be taken care of.

Too much of information swirling around you? Why not just ready a tiny- winey conclusion and call it a day?

“Burger full of cheese and fries making your days crisp!” but are these really keeping our health in check? Well the answer for that is a huge NO. A nutritious diet and your career of bodybuilding is always going to be the Burger and Fries of your life.

One of the most popular youth team sports is football, teenagers, especially those engaged in major sport involvement, have unique energy and nutritional needs hence, the eating patterns of athletes need to meet their growth and developmental needs, and the energy and nutritional demands associated with general physical activity and sport participation. Female athletes also need to meet the energy demands of menses and reproductive health.  One important factor contributing to poor energy and nutrient intakes in athletes is the timing of meal consumption, both throughout the day and around sport practice or games. Consistent meal patterns may preserve lean body mass and replenish stored carbohydrate (glycogen), which is an important fuel for exercise and brain function. Skipping meals, particularly breakfast, has been identified as a concern among children in general.

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