CHAPTER 10: EATING HABITS, HEALTH

AND PERFORMANCE
SECTION III: HEALTH BEHAVIORS
Comparable to physical activity, eating habits are also affected by the lifestyle people
choose and developed progressively throughout time. These habits are composed of coordinated
complex behaviors that mold the health and the capacity of an individual to do productive work.
In this chapter, we will discuss several eating behaviors and basic nutrition for sports.

TYPES OF EATING BASED ON PERSONALITY

in this chapter, our discussion of the different eating habits based on the
concepts described by Timi Gustafson. In his article he identified seven eating
habits that are prominent in the lifestyle of millennials:
 ACCIDENTAL DINERS - This type of people have conditioned doing activities while
chewing or munching something. For them, tasks cannot be done if it is not supported by
food being chomped. Eating food, nutrition or not, is essential for them to accomplish
their tasks. This behavior often leads them to become habitual diners.
 IRREGULAR DINERS - This type of people with eating habit may be seen as practical
and simple. They consider food as mere fuel for work and physical exertion. They do not
really care about the taste, nutritional value or presentation of the food. They will only eat
just to satisfy hunger.
 SOCIAL DINERS - This type of people with eating habit often acquired eating behavior
from the people around them. Most social diners start from being irregular diners. The
acquisition of eating behavior from the social environment often associated with a
pleasurable feeling from their peers. Social diners adopt this good feeling from friends to
the food they eat and the way they it together.
 EMOTIONAL DINERS - these people are somewhat dysfunctional with the eating
behavior they exhibit. Their behavior is caused by a traumatic emotional event that
affected their eating habit to cope with the psychological and emotional stress,
Dysfunctional eating behavior put them in an extreme case of malnutrition, from obesity
to anorexia. A deep feeling of helplessness is involved in this kind of eating behavior.
 REFORMED DINER - from the name itself, reformed diners are the ones who
improved themselves from a previously undesirable state they are also classified as
survivors of health crisis because of their improved eating habits. These people are strict
in complying with their diet plans and exercise program, learning the bad effects and
pains of having a destructive eating behavior.
 HEALTHY DINERS - to become a healthy diner, one will depend on a vast support of
various factors that rooms a human lifestyle. Unlike the reformed diner, the healthy diner
is not conscious and firm to a diet plan or program. A good diet and exercise lifestyle are
naturally incorporated to its everyday life, associated with good feelings from friends and
physical satisfaction. Healthy diners is dependent not only to a healthy diet but to
physical activity for him/her to be able to do its task Because of these well-coordinated
healthy factors, healthy diners are energetic, free from illness and intellectually, socially
and emotionally sound as an individual.
HYDRATION AND ELECTROLYTE BALANCE
 Intracellular Fluid - this body of water inside the cell.
 This bodies of water around the cell help in the transportation of nutrients. In the blood,
plasma helps in the transportation of red blood cells (RBC) to oxygenate the body; it is
primarily made up of water. Water transports oxygen-carrying RBCs as well as other
nutrients and hormones needed by the tissues at the distal portion of our body.

WATER BALANCE DURING REST

 However, we take our daily water not just from the fluids we drink but from the
food we eat as well. Water profile in drinks and food differ from one another. About
60% of our water intake daily comes from the fluids we drink and 30% from the
food we eat. A total a 33 mL per kilogram of body weight per day is daily water
intake from all sources.
 As varied as water intake, water loss occurs different mediums im the body. The
water evaporation on the skin is just one mode of water loss in the body. Majority of
water loss at rest happens in the kidneys. This accounts to 60% of our daily water
loss.
 The rate of water excretion in the kidneys depends on different factors as well.
Increased heart rate and activity during the day or intake of diuretics intensify
water loss in the kidneys.

WATER LOSS WATER GAINS

Urine Fuid intake

Insensible Water Loss Food intake
Fecal Loss Metabolic Production
WATER BALANCE DURING EXERCISE
 From 95. 5 mL/h at rest from cool environment, water loss during exercise increases to
1,325mL/h. Water loss from respiration also increases during exercise. While there is an
increase in excretion through sweating and respiration, there is an increase in metabolic
water production however in aerobic exercise.
 Water production is increased as oxidative metabolism is promoted.

120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%
during exercise at rest

loss from other excretion loss from sweat

DEHYDRATION
 It is discussed earlier that change in the body’s water level significantly affects functions,
and to a certain extent, one’s ability to live. When dehydration strikes above 2% of body
weight, heart rate and body temperature increases and prolonged physical performance
will be notably impaired.
SUMMARY of the BODY’S RESPONSE to DEHYDRATION:
Alteration in Physiological Function and Performance from Dehydration

Physiological Function
Blood/plasma volume Decrease
Heart rate Increase
Electrolytes Decrease
Core Temperature Increase
Sweat rate Delayed onset
Skin blood flow Decrease
Lactate Threshold Decrease
Performance
Muscular Strength Decrease
Muscular Endurance Decrease
Run time to exhaustion Decrease
Total work performed Decrease

ELECTROLYTE BALANCE
There are two major routes for electrolyte loss in the form of sweating and urine
production. Sodium and chloride are most abundant electrolytes loss from sweating. At rest,
major route of electrolyte loss is through urine production.

HYPONATREMIA
 The fluid intake reduces the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory effects of dehydration
with the help of our thirst mechanism. Drinking too much sodium content has led to
hyponatremia which cause confusion, disorientation, seizures and even coma if responses
are not reversed. Intake of electrolyte-rich drinks reverses the effects of hyponatremia.

EATING FOR PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

 Winning made athletes and participants desire sports participation. This same desire
however affected their eating habits by including substances that disrupt their diet.

STIMULANTS
 Even for non-athletes, stimulants such as caffeine are becoming a popular lifestyle drink.
In a form of energy drink, they have chemical structures that cause the release of
norepinephrine from sympathetic neurons.
 Stimulants intake has been embedded to the modern lifestyle of people with different
personalities. Higher doses must be avoided by individuals with cardiac risk factors.
Adverse effects include headache, hypertension, dizziness, anxiety and tremors when
exposed to high levels of stimulants.

ANABOLIC STEROIDS
 Steroids probably are the most famous type of performance-enhancer. Though it is
considered as a pharmaceutical ergogenic aid, steroids is becoming an issue in terms of
eating habits-driving lifestyle for an estimated one million Americans is believed to have
 used steroids at least once. Derivatives of testosterone, these substances have anabolic
(Tissue Building) and androgenic (masculinizing) effects.

THIRST QUENCHERS
 Energy drinks are different from thirst quenchers.
 The role of thirst quenchers is not to give energy for performance but to prevent the body
to reach alarming fluid loss

DIURETICS
 Diuretics are substance that elevate the rate of renal exertion.
 Also, diuretics have been used in attempt to avoid detection by dilution of banned
substances in urine drug screens.

CONDITIONING STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHY EATING

 GRADUAL PROGRESSION – It would be a good strategy to introduce one new
nutritious food every 2-4 weeks that will reinforce a better set of meal to take every day.
A theme per day may be used to slowly introduce food that will change your diet and
preference. One example is “no meat” day or “All-Green Mondays”.
 POSITIVE ASSOCIATIN – the association of healthy foods to positive factors is one
strategy to acquire a healthy eating lifestyle. Eating behavior and food preference are
linked to desirable experiences and favorable situation. When incorporated in a long-term
eating reformation program, foods with healthier nutritional factors should progress along
with good associations for eating behavior.