Answer :
Final answer:
A senior wrestler replaced meals with dietary supplements to make weight for a match, underscoring the importance of proper nutritional strategies for athletes. Carbohydrates play a crucial role in providing long-lasting and quick energy sources for athletic performance.
Explanation:
The question involves a senior wrestler who has replaced meals with dietary supplements in an attempt to make weight for a match, highlighting concerns about healthy eating habits and weight management issues in athletes. Such behaviors can lead to nutritional deficiencies, impaired athletic performance, and potential health problems. Coaches and nutritionists often advise athletes on proper nutrition strategies that balance energy intake with the demands of training and competition. Consuming carbohydrates in the form of a big pasta dinner the night before an event provides a long-lasting source of energy as the body breaks down these complex carbohydrates into glucose, which is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. This glycogen serves as an energy reserve during prolonged physical activity. Eating simple sugars a few hours before competition, on the other hand, offers a quick, readily available source of energy that can enhance performance in the short term without causing the digestive discomfort that might result from eating heavier, more complex foods so close to a sporting event.
