Dr Subhadra Mandalika, a senior nutritionist and her colleague, Dr Geetanjali Bhide have been working on the nutritional needs of sportspersons for more than a decade. With their theoretical knowledge coupled with research and practical experience in this area, they have brought out this book on Nutritional Guidelines for Sportspersons which includes various basic as well as applied aspects along with practical suggestions for sportspersons of various categories—endurance, power/strength, team, weight class, racket sports, etc. Apart from the role of macro and micronutrients in sports performance, the authors have also included in this book comprehensive information on hydration guidelines and sports supplements. Explanation of nutritional aspects based on exercise physiology, guidelines to plan diets for sportspersons based on training schedules, concerns of overconsumption of supplements are worth mentioning features of this book.

It is at an opportune time that this book has been published.

I wish the readers take full benefit of this scientific information and succeed.

A wide variety of sports and games are played in India and Indian athletes are making a remarkable contribution at the national and international level.

The present book Nutritional Guidelines for Sportspersons is must read for all athletes, coaches, physical fitness trainer and future budding sports nutritionists. It provides the reader with current scientific information. The book will help students, coaches or physical fitness trainers understand the basics of nutrition, exercise, physical activity and various types of sports. The benefits of exercise, guidelines for various aspects of physical fitness and exercise training are broadly discussed. The chapter on bioenergetics of exercise explains how body derives energy from the different macronutrients—carbohydrates, proteins and fats through aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. The importance of body weight and composition, its impact on an athlete's performance and the methods of assessment are explained well. The requirements of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, their food sources, amounts and timing of consumption—pre, during and post exercise is elaborated with appropriate examples. Along with solid foods, hydration or water intake too contributes to performance. The importance of hydration in terms of fluid, electrolyte requirements, timing of consumption as well as methods of monitoring, the hydration status in athletes have been well explained in the book.

The second section of the book gives the practical dietary guidelines for athletes from varied sports. It begins with evaluation of energy and nutritional needs of athletes in different phases of training and competition (general preparatory phase, special preparatory, competition and off season) and proceeds with nutritional guidelines for five different types of sports— endurance, power/strength, team sports, racket sports and combat sports. The characteristics of sports, body compositional targets, physiological needs and nutrient requirements of sports persons along with suggestions fm10for weight loss and/or weight management particularly for weight class sportspersons are explained in detail. Every chapter also has a case study with a suggested menu of training and/or competition. The book also has a chapter dedicated to nutrition supplements that includes the need, dose, efficacy, effects and safety of supplements along with guidelines to choose an appropriate supplement. Case studies and nutrition spotlight on recent trends in various topics are highlights of the book. The book can also be used as a textbook and/or a reference book by all those who wish to gain precise information on sports and exercise nutrition.

In such a scenario, Nutritional Guidelines for Sportspersons authored by Dr (Mrs) Geetanjali Bhide and Dr (Mrs) Subhadra Mandalika is a much required textbook in the field of sports nutrition and is extremely relevant to the Indian sports nutritionist and sports coaches. Since I have personally known and interacted with both the authors, I can guarantee that this textbook is a useful handbook based on actual work experience with sportspersons and not just a theoretical book written within the confines of an air-conditioned office.

Each chapter of this textbook succinctly covers all aspects related to a particular sport and provides, in great detail the corresponding physiological requirement, training aspect and nutritional guidelines for that sport, as the energy requirements for each sport vary. Case studies and questions provided at the end of each chapter are an excellent method to study a chapter thoroughly as well as help in preparing for examinations. I am particularly happy that the authors have included weight management in the chapter of weight category sportspersons, as in the Indian scenario, I have personally experienced sportsmen adopting all sorts of incorrect methods to lose/gain weight for an event with disastrous results at times.

The book also provides information on how nutrition is important for preventing injuries while training as it is one of the three important factors for injury prevention post-training besides the other two hydration and sleep.

The Introduction of the book covers the neglected aspect of fitness in the Indian population, which is indeed a reflection on an overall poor sporting performance in the world arena of sports. The chapter on Body composition directly co-relates to performance. It reflects on how the Indian athlete's diet should suit their body composition and nutritional pattern. The chapter on Nutritional supplements is an important chapter as many a sportsperson uses these incorrectly at times, thus knowingly and unknowingly becoming a victim of Banned substances or performing below par.fm12

All elite sportspersons and teams across the world selected to perform at the level of international and Olympic championships follow a very scientific method of nutrition and hydration. This textbook, therefore, is the need of the hour for our sportspersons and teams who aspire to represent the Nation and excel at such international platforms. I sincerely hope, this book will be part of the teaching and coaching curriculum for nutritionists, coaches, sportspersons and sports administrators as well.

Lastly, I wish the authors success in this important endeavor on the much neglected subject of Nutrition and dietary guidelines for sportspersons.

In both the sections of the book, a special feature—‘nutrition spotlight’ gives recent advances, guidelines and research studies related to the chapter.

The present book will definitely be an important resource of reference for academicians, students from nutrition and sports related fields; coaches and sportspersons; and all those who seek to be aware of the current scientific concepts in sports nutrition.

We greatly appreciate and acknowledge the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) for recognizing our efforts and rendering their support towards the publication of this book. SAAP is an apex body for promotion of sports in the state. It implements sports development programs of the Government of India/Sports Authority of India (SAI) such as construction of stadiums, establishment of sports academies and other sports-related activities.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr PS Prasad MD MPh PhD; Professor and Program Director, School of Health Sciences and Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Kakinada, for his constant encouragement and motivation to publish our work without which our association with SAAP would not have materialized.

We are very thankful to Dr G Subbulakshmi, an eminent Nutritionist and Retired Professor of Nutrition, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai; Maj Gen MA Naik (Veteran), Sena Medal and Arjun Awardee and Ex-Commandant, Army Sports Institute, Pune and Dr (Col) Rana K Chengappa (Retd), an eminent expert in sports medicine for expressing their honest opinion about the contents of our book through the highly inspiring forewords.

The valuable professional contribution of various scientists has been duly acknowledged both in the text as well as in the references given towards the end of each chapter. The copyright of the sources of information remains with the original authors. However, if reference to any author/s is missing in the book, it is purely unintentional and inadvertent; and deeply regretted. We are also thankful to all the web search engines for providing us access to the required information without which this venture would have been impossible.

We are also deeply thankful to our family members and friends for their constant encouragement and support.fm16