Nutrition for the Australian Rules football player

This review summarises past and present nutritional practices of Australian Rules Football players, noting changes that have occurred as the footballers have become more receptive to scientific input. Australian Rules Football is a unique sport, with matches involving intermittent high intensity sprints between periods of jogging and walking and repeated physical contact. Endurance, speed, strength, power and agility are essential physical characteristics. Australian Rules footballers exhibit a wide range of anthropometrical attributes due to the positional requirements of the game. Dietary surveys indicate that footballers of the 1980's consumed a diet similar to that of the general Australian population consisting of 44%, 37.5%, 15% and 3.5% of carbohydrate (CHO), fat, protein and alcohol, respectively. However, as dietitians are becoming an integral part of the support staff of teams there is evidence that nutritional practices conducive to optimal sporting performance are now being followed. Due to the prolonged duration and intermittent high intensity activity pattern of Australian Rules, nutritional supplementation such as fluid and CHO intake during training and competition and creatine intake may be beneficial; however, further research needs to be conducted in the field to determine its importance in Australian Rules Football.