by A great mix of different cultures from all over the world in one place. This is one of the selling points of the Games Village at each Olympics as “THE place to be” for those two summer weeks every four years. This mix of so many different cultures brings with it a wide variety of cuisines that cater to the cultural habits and needs of more than 12,000 athletes from over 200 regions and countries. While it is undoubtedly tempting to have the opportunity to enjoy such a variety of foods, it can cause a lot of confusion and uncertainty for many athletes, especially when they need to maintain a balanced eating plan in the quest for peak fitness.
This was certainly the case with many Indian athletes.
“Athletes and their support staff report cases at the Asian Games or other global events where athletes encounter new dishes that they are not familiar with, so they simply do not know what is in the food they end up eating, or they resort to a lot of desserts,” says Aradhana Sharma, the chief nutritionist for the Indian team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Sharma’s appointment is India’s first in this role at an Olympic Games. Sports nutritionists have long been an important part of the teams of larger and more successful Olympic nations and India is now showing signs of catching up and filling in the missing pieces of the background staff puzzle.
During our conversation, Sharma, who heads a two-person team of India nutritionists in Paris, was quick to clarify that it was not her job as chief nutritionist to tell athletes what they could and could not eat in the Village. That was the prerogative of athletes’ personal nutritionists, whether appointed by the national federations of their respective sports, sponsors supporting specific athletes, or simply a nutritionist working full-time for an athlete on their payroll. Sharma’s team was the binding force to ensure that food was the least of the athletes’ worries.
“We were there mainly to monitor whether they were following the plans set out by their nutritionists and also to help them with any new issues or confusion about food that would arise in Paris,” said Sharma. “If the athletes were unsure about something or simply wanted to try something new but were hesitant, we would advise them when the best time to consume that particular food was, be it before or after training.”
It is easy to overlook the smallest details, such as the right time to eat certain foods and the amount to consume, as well as the nutritional composition of meals according to the training and competition schedule. However, these factors can have serious consequences, especially at this level where such small differences are involved. This makes the presence of a specialist or a guide all the more important.
Aradhana Sharma, the chief nutritionist of the Indian team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
To make life easier for the Indian athletes and to raise awareness among the group about the science of sports nutrition, the IOA also developed a mobile application. Apart from guidelines such as anti-doping regulations and medical care, and all other necessary details that the group would require during their stay in Paris, the app also contained details of dietary habits as well as the meal plan for the entire duration of the Games, which included many vegetarian and vegan options – an important requirement for many Indian athletes, ensuring that they did not have to rely on Indian restaurants outside the Village. Sharma and her team, who were responsible for the nutrition and nutrients section of the app, ensured that the nutritional content of the food items available in the Village was well listed, such as the presence of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, etc. This Athletes are informed about which foods they should consume in larger or smaller quantities, which they should avoid altogether, and which foods may be ideal or harmful at a certain time of day, all while taking into account their normal eating plans and food intolerances.
“The benefit of having an app with all this detailed information is that athletes know in advance what they can eat and what they should or shouldn’t eat on a given day, rather than just going in and trying to figure something out. It’s just much more efficient for them,” Sharma explained.
Nevertheless, nutritionists expressly advise athletes not to conduct any experiments with food in the immediate vicinity of their respective competitions. “It’s kind of a rule of sports nutrition: stick to your normal diet before the competition,” Sharma informed.
However, it is not that easy. As competitions approach, many athletes resort to “comfort food,” which often consists of foods that are not part of the nutritional plan. The challenge for Sharma and other sports nutritionists is to help athletes find the comfort they seek while ensuring that nothing the athletes eat ends up negatively impacting their performance.
“We also have to decide on a case-by-case basis,” said Sharma. “Sometimes, if we know that an athlete’s favorite food is not doing him much good in terms of performance, there is still no harm in allowing him to consume it in small or measured amounts.”
For female athletes, comfort food is an even more important factor, especially for those who are in the midst of their menstrual cycle during games. Sharma sheds light on how menstrual cycles affect not only women’s wants but also their needs when it comes to food and nutrition.
“For athletes, plans can change depending on the phase of their cycle,” explains Sharma. “And their energy, protein and micronutrient needs can change accordingly. But they are very familiar with this because they have been working in a high-performance environment for a long time.”
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Indian Manu Bhaker (2nd from left), who won two medals in Paris, in action during one of her shooting competitions.
At the other end of the spectrum is pre-competition anxiety, which prevents adequate nutrition. Many athletes often cannot eat anything at all on the day of their competition, let alone something that is good for them. In such cases, the presence of someone like Sharma can be a great help.
“In such cases, we make sure that the food they eat the night before the competition gives them enough energy during the competition. So if they can’t have a proper breakfast in the morning, we can still cope.”
Of course, other variables come into play, such as extra care in the diet of boxers, weightlifters and wrestlers who compete in sports that have strict weight requirements on each day of competition. Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification on the morning of her final at the Paris Olympics for being 100 grams overweight was one of the biggest talking points of the Games. Although it is not yet clear whether a miscalculation of her food intake was the reason she gained more weight than she was able to lose overnight, it shows how demanding and complex the job of a nutritionist is.
“We are what we eat,” goes the old saying. While awareness of the science of sports nutrition and its benefits in elite sports has increased dramatically in India over the past decade, Sharma strongly emphasizes the importance of spreading the message at the grassroots level and “teaching them from a young age.”
“The earlier you teach a child, the sooner you can change or improve their (eating) habits… I always pay close attention to this when I work with children because this is the stage when we as nutritionists can more easily teach them good habits,” explains Sharma.
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