2018_10_31_FAR_nutricion-deportiva

Christopher Curtis, Professor of Sport & Exercise Science at Middlesex University (UK) has visited the University of Navarra. During Curtis' stay at the University of Navarra he has been able to give class to Pharmacy and Nutrition and Medicine students. The topics covered in these sessions were the relationship between nutrition and sport, aspects of nutrition and immunology or the importance of water in diets among others.

How do you work, nutritionally, with the players on the soccer team you work with?
Most of my work in sports nutrition is from consultancy service, working part-time with the club's sports science staff and the players to ensure their nutritional needs are met.

As I work part-time, I don't always have the opportunity to see the players as much as I would like, so I am often at contact with them by email or phone to make sure they are up to date with the agreed-upon diet.

Does an elite athlete have to have very specific nutrition habits?
I don't think an elite athlete has to have "special" nutritional habits, they are just given a different approach to their per diem expenses.

An athlete should focus on aspects of their per diem expenses related to sports performance. As result, my goal is to adjust their diets to complement the high physical effort they put into their conference.

My Philosophy staff at work is to focus sports nutrition first on food and avoid the use of large amounts of supplements, as they are not sustainable over the long term deadline and also pose a greater risk of failing doping tests.

I try to use supplements as little as possible, however, if an athlete needs to take a supplement, I always make sure they are properly evaluated and tested for banned substances.

Do you think it is useful that a person who regularly practices sports in a non-professional way should acquire this subject habits?
I think that, whether or not you are an elite athlete, it is important that we carry a per diem expenses with healthy habits to maintain our well-being staff. Research shows us that a deficient per diem expenses can deteriorate health and, if you add to this that you are an elite athlete, it will lead to not being able to train regularly and intensely.

Similarly, if you are not an elite athlete, poor health can affect your daily life. Nutrition, along with other lifestyle factors, plays a vital role in wellness staff.

What do you think is the future of this profession? What are the challenges facing the nutrition profession today?
Regarding the future of the profession, I believe that the area of Nutrition and Genetics is core topic for the future direction of knowledge of nutritionists. This area is gaining a lot of momentum in the field of nutrition, and although the current research is primarily focused in the areas of public health or nutrition-related disease management, I think it is only a matter of time until we start seeing more publications from research in this field.

In relation to challenges, the field of sport and nutrition science is constantly evolving, so I think one of the main challenges is to keep up with the latest trends and research. Another obvious challenge is how to translate the scientific research to the people and groups we work with.

What can you tell us about the importance of nutrition professionals being well trained?
I believe it is vitally important for nutrition professionals to have the necessary university training and to be properly trained to provide correct dietary advice to their clients. This constitutes quality assurance for professionals to demonstrate that they are properly qualified to provide adequate information and safe advice to those groups or individuals seeking to obtain sports nutrition advice.