Healthy Performances

A TEAM of health students from Plymouth University are hungry to find out what is on the menu for footballers in the city...

...to help boost their studies while looking at ways to improve player performance. Undergraduates on the Nutrition, Exercise and Health, and Health and Fitness degrees, are being matched to sporting ‘partners’ as part of the practical element of their course.

This year is the first time students have teamed up with our football club and we all welcome the chance for feedback on ways to up our game. Three students – Sebastian Readhead, Samuel Downs and Katharina Gross – have been selected to work with our Academy players, and will analyse to the players’ intake of energy, fat, carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals. Each player will receive a full breakdown of their diet and some advice on how to modify it, which our coaches can also use to support our understanding of the complex nutritional requirements of elite athletes.

Gail Rees, Associate Professor in Human Nutrition from the School of Biomedical and Healthcare Sciences, said: “We are delighted the club has come on board with the study. The students learn a great deal from working with real clients. It helps their professionalism and communication skills and provides a ‘real life’ assessment in the module. Most students enjoy the ‘hands-on’ approach.”

Pictured above: Samuel Readhead with Argyle Aacdemy player Liam Knowles.