• Length:
    6 Weeks
  • Effort:
    4–8 hours per week
  • Price:

    FREE
    Add a Verified Certificate for $169 USD

  • Institution
    WageningenX
  • Subject:
    Food & Nutrition
  • Level:
    Intermediate
  • Language:
    English
  • Video Transcript:
    English
  • Course Type:
    Self-paced on your time

Prerequisites

Basis knowledge about nutrition.

If you have no basic knowledge about nutrition, we would recommend you to join the MOOC Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients and Malnutrition first. The MOOC Nutrition and Health: Macronutrients and Overnutrition could alsoserve as a valuable preparation.

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Awards

About this course

Skip About this course

Are you involved in sports or regular exercise and do you want to have a better understanding of the role of nutrition on performance and health? Do you want to learn whether certain nutritional strategies could be relevant for your own athletic performance and/or muscle growth? Are you a dietitian, personal trainer, physiotherapist or a health/sport coach and do you want to be able to provide proper nutritional advice for your clients? Or, are you none of the above but interested in nutrition, exercise and sports and do you want to make your own informed decisions about your daily food intake?

Then this online course Nutrition, Exercise and Sports is for you! Nutrition is crucial to live an active and healthy life, to support training, and to optimize performance. In this online course, researchers and teachers from Wageningen University & Research will familiarize you with the nutritional aspects of exercise and sports. What are the basic concepts in exercise physiology and sport nutrition science? How is exercise being fueled for the different types of sports like; power sports, sprinting and endurance exercise? And how does protein support skeletal muscle mass and performance? In this online course you will learn to estimate energy needs and understand thermoregulation and fluid balance. You will learn about the role of micronutrients and supplements in exercise performance. Moreover, you will be introduced to some health issues related to doing exercise.

This online course also touches upon how the lessons learned from nutrition and sports research can be applied during ageing. For example, what are the benefits of extra protein in vulnerable age groups?

Be aware that this course will not tell you exactly what to eat. Instead, you will learn and understand the nutritional aspects of exercise and sport, so you can make your own informed decisions and critically evaluate nutritional advices and claims.

For whom?

The online course Nutrition, Exercise and Sports is especially useful for:

  • Sport- and health coaches, Physiotherapists and Dietitians
  • People working in the (sport) food industry
  • Athletes and professional sporters
  • Everyone with a healthy appetite for knowledge about nutrition, exercise and sports

Ready to join the MOOC Nutrition, Exercise and Sports? This online course contains several interesting and inspiring interviews with nutrition and sport professionals. It will provide basic understanding of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, and contains challenging assignments that will give you insight in nutritional needs and performance benefits for (your) athletes, your clients or yourself.

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn
  • The key concepts of exercise physiology and sports nutrition science
  • Important nutritional aspects of exercise including energy, carbohydrates & fats, protein metabolism and fluid balance
  • Why certain nutritional strategies can enhance exercise and sports performance
  • The role of micronutrients and supplements in exercise and sports
  • The relationship between Exercise, Nutrition and Health, also during ageing
  • Develop a critical mind-set in the field of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

Syllabus

Skip Syllabus

Week 1 | Introduction to Sport Nutrition (Science)

Key topics:

An introduction into Sports, Exercise and Nutrition, including types of Sports, Sport Nutrition Pyramid. An introduction into Sport Nutrition Science - including empirical cycle, study designs, critical issues and performance measurements.

Week 2 | Skeletal Muscle, Exercise and Sports

Key topics:

An introduction into Skeletal muscle anatomy & physiology, including contraction and energy transfer. Exercise capacity: Power & Endurance. Cardiopulmonal system during Exercise

Week 3 | Energy and Fluid balance

Key topics:

Energy requirement, energy availability. Thermoregulation, Fluid balance, (de)hydration & rehydration strategies

Week 4 | Macronutrients

Key topics:

Carbohydrates & fats as energy source, nutritional strategies. Skeletal muscle protein metabolism and dietary protein intake.

Week 5 | Micronutrients and ergogenic supplements

Key topics:

Function of micronutrients and recommendations: Iron, Magnesium, calcium and Vitamins D and B. Ergogenic supplements and sports performance

Week 6 | Exercise and Nutrition during ageing

Key topics:

Skeletal muscle and ageing, Protein & Exercise in older adults, Intervention strategies

Meet your instructors

Wageningen University & Research
Dr. Marco Mensink
Assistant Professor Nutrition, Energy metabolism & Health
Wageningen University & Research
Rieneke Terink MSc
PhD Candidate Exercise stress (markers)
Wageningen University & Research
Pol Grootswagers MSc
PhD Candidate
Wageningen University & Research

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Learner testimonials

''I enjoyed having a global view of the topic, ranging from muscle physiology, to nutrients, to hydration etc. The teaching staff was also very pleasant and easy to understand.''

''Im so happy and satisfied about this course, becasuse futher give us really valuable information, this opened my mind to new knowledge, its so complete and i love the videos with drawins and examples.''

''Although I had an advantage of knowledge before starting the course, I’ve learned more details about food and exercise. Loved that! Also, this course was a good ‘refreshment’, of my knowledge.''

Frequently asked questions

Do you have questions about the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and/or related online programmes of Wageningen University & Research? To help you find answers to your questions, we created a list with frequently asked questions about enrolling, participating in- and finishing a MOOC.

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