Sport nutrition P3, P4, M1

Energy measurements

Energy from food can be measured in calories, joules, kilocalories and kilojoules. Calories measure energy, especially heat energy. One calorie is the energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius and a kilocalorie is equal to 1,000 calories. A joule is most commonly used to measure energy, one joule moves a mass of 1g at 1 metre per second and a kilojoule is equal to 1,000 joules.

Sources

Fats, carbohydrate and fat are the main energy fuel used by your body. When they are digested the body uses the three energy sources and the body breaks it down into their basic unit’s, carbohydrates into sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids. The body uses these basic units for growth and activity’s.

Complex carbohydrate consists of large molecules of simple carbohydrates, so they must be broken down into simple carbohydrates before they can be absorbed so this tends to be quicker than fat and proteins.

Protein are complex molecules, the body takes longer to break them down. As a result, they are a much slower and longer lasting source of energy than carbohydrates.

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Fats are the slowest source of energy but the most energy efficient. Each gram of fat supplies the body with about 9 calories this is more than proteins or carbohydrates.

Measuring requirements

Body composition is the most commonly used classification for an individual’s bodies shape and size. There are three body types, even though a individual will not fit in the body type perfectly it is still a excellent method of classifying there body shape. The three body composition is ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph.

Ectomorph classification consists of having narrow ...

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