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Eating to Improve Body Composition

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Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements

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Abstract

For optimal health and athletic performance, gaining lean skeletal muscle mass and losing body fat mass is one ideal outcome of a nutritional/exercise intervention desired by athletes and fitness competitors alike. While achieving a lean muscular physique based on proper diet and intense training may be a goal of bodybuilding and fitness populations, it may not be the primary goal of competitive athletes. Athletes training and competing for specific events are often judged on sport-specific performance affected by a number of interactive variables including but not limited to excellent body composition (i.e. high degree of muscularity and low body fat levels). With these elements in mind, this chapter focuses on various clinical trials that have examined body composition changes through various diet and/or exercise interventions. Issues surrounding the mechanisms governing why substituting carbohydrate for protein and/or fat can enhance body composition are also discussed.

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Authors
  1. Jose Antonio
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  2. Anssi H. Manninen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Society of Sports Nutrition, Deerfield Beach, FL, USA

    Jose Antonio PhD

  2. Division of Nutrition and Endocrinology, Miami Research Associates, Miami, FL, USA

    Douglas Kalman PhD, RD

  3. Department of Health and Exercise Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Jeffrey R. Stout PhD

  4. Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

    Mike Greenwood PhD  & Darryn S. Willoughby PhD  & 

  5. Division of Exercise Physiology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    G. Gregory Haff PhD

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© 2008 Humana Press. a part of Spring Science+Business Media, LLC

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Antonio, J., Manninen, A.H. (2008). Eating to Improve Body Composition. In: Antonio, J., Kalman, D., Stout, J.R., Greenwood, M., Willoughby, D.S., Haff, G.G. (eds) Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-302-8_26

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