Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

Wageningen University via edX

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Details

Go to class

Provider

edX
Pricing

Free Online Course (Audit)
Languages

English
Certificate

$209.00 Certificate Available
Effort

6 weeks, 4-8 hours/week
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Intermediate
Subtitles

English

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Overview

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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.

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

Taught by

Dr. Marco Mensink, Rieneke Terink MSc and Pol Grootswagers MSc

Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 1,269 Class Central reviews

4.5 rating at edX based on 34 ratings

Start your review of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

Anonymous

I am a retired male (age 60) who loss a lot of weight 8 years ago. I am not an athlete and have never participated in any sports. However, for the past 8 years, I've engage in regular intense exercise sessions at my local gym, about 7 hours per week…

I am a retired male (age 60) who loss a lot of weight 8 years ago. I am not an athlete and have never participated in any sports. However, for the past 8 years, I've engage in regular intense exercise sessions at my local gym, about 7 hours per week, to maintain my health, fitness, and wellness.

Over the years, I've developed a keen interested in nutrition and exercise, and so this course was perfect for me. It provided an opportunity to formally learn about many topics of interest spanning exercise and nutrition. I've a science background, so the course's evidence-based approach was gratifying to me, shedding light on many "myths" and misconceptions that I continually encounter in social media or bouncing around the gym "echo chambed."

The course provides an excellent balance between theory (scientific research, physiology, metabolism, etc.) and practical application of the concepts, even for myself as a non-athlete. It's increased my interest in the covered topics even more than when I started, and I actually purchased a sports nutrition and physiology textbook to read further.

The content was well presented: clear and understandable, with its mix of videos and text. I found the practice exercises to be very helpful for my learning.

All in all, a very nice course for anyone interested in the specifics and details of exercise, nutrition, and sports.
Anonymous

This course is really fantastic.I came to know in details the importance of exercise and having healthy food enriched with vitamins,minerals and proteins. I never knew in details as to why it is important to ingest a correct quantity and the time to…

This course is really fantastic.I came to know in details the importance of exercise and having healthy food enriched with vitamins,minerals and proteins. I never knew in details as to why it is important to ingest a correct quantity and the time to consume the vitamins,minerals and proteins.
Further as the course shows videos of different personalities,I had an idea as to what is going on in the world regarding sports and nutrition.I myself is an athlete I now know what percentage of protein I should have and how much exercise should I do.It is also a fact that the course has given many important clips to read .By reading the clips,my overall knowledge of the subject is increased.Especially the MET values,TEE etc.
So overall I am very happy with the course which has given me very good guidelines to improve and maintain my overall health.
I thank all the team for bringing such a good course
I would also like to to do any further course on this subject.
Pat Buckley
3

I find the course made me sit down and review my own intakes. I'm enjoying the part on aging, too, as I am 65+ though still working and getting fitter right now. I believe I lost some fitness due to a injury a couple years ago. Through this course,…

I find the course made me sit down and review my own intakes. I'm enjoying the part on aging, too, as I am 65+ though still working and getting fitter right now. I believe I lost some fitness due to a injury a couple years ago. Through this course, I'm seeing the importance of nutrition and additives. Looks like I also switched from a daily vitamin that contained a small amount of iron about a year ago, or 2 years ago. I've since switched back since this little bit of iron probably made me not hit the maximum or a bit more, every day, given the varieties in my diet. I am continuing to take BCAA daily as your patients in ProMO trial, but I may try protein supplements as well. Looks to me that BCAA helps one use up all one's nutrients better rather than discarding them or saving as fat??? But this is not stated anywhere. right now with work-at-home due to COVID times, I'm exercising twice most days, sometimes 3 times if you include casual morning wake-up exercises that sometimes have light weights. Today is a day of rest since I think seniors, like others, will be found to only gain muscle by having periods of rest as well as periods of intensive exercise. Anyways, overall, this course has made me think about these things. I'm going back through it and reading some more to decide exactly what to do. It's necessary sometimes to be one's own coach or hire a coach as in public medicine, the medical staff are often just happy if one is surviving rather than thriving so I'm taking this course and I took a course earlier this year on Physical conditioning which has led me to do tabata HIIT exercises twice a week - I was doing 3 times a week at first, but now I'm doing longer tabata sessions so twice a week is all I can take, so far, or my fitness actually goes backwards. I also bicycle and run during COVID times. I was swimming some, but when will COVID end so I can do this again? So, this has been a great course, as it made me slow down and think about micro-nutrients. I sort of knew about macronutrients already. I also know now why I should continue to eat a lot at breakfast or in the morning as I have for many years - I eat twice as much as many people that I have discussed breakfast with, but this is really only 25 to 30 grams of protein.
David A. Shanks @DavoShanks
3

Great insight into athletic performance improvement through nutritional strategies. It will be very valuable to my personal journey in developing better nutritional habits and mountain biking performance.
Anonymous

The course was great. I liked the practical quests very much but I would have liked to see more measurements / experiments which can be done by a non-gym goer. I mean, I can't measure my max strength on 1 repetition of lifting if I don't have weight…

The course was great. I liked the practical quests very much but I would have liked to see more measurements / experiments which can be done by a non-gym goer. I mean, I can't measure my max strength on 1 repetition of lifting if I don't have weights and I don't know my VO2max as many others. Perhaps at least an adaptation of how to do it at home or a heart rate comparison instead would have been a more accessible measurement.
In general, I would have liked a bigger course, meaning, more detailed and diging deeper. In particular, the last section was extremely interesting but relatively small.
The discussion forums I didn't like because no one was engaging. I tried writing under a few posts but didn't spark interaction. Additionally, all the questions I had were met by "great question, does anyone have an answer" from the moderator and then silence... So I didn't get an answer to any of them.
Anonymous

Its an easy course to follow and a great way to learn how to navigate through he noise of unsupported nutritional advise online. I knew quite a lot before the course but still got many aha! moments. The course also is very compact for an overview learning of basic and must-have knowledge in my opinion.
Anonymous

learned a lot about muscle and the influence of food and excercise on them. This is really helpfull as a dietician to help both athletes and older people knowing what the underlying physiology is.
Also I liked the practical information, which food is recommended for which type of sport.
Cécile Renaud

I am a researcher in space biology specialised in life support system, with a focus on food nutrition. I am also doing a lot of endurance exercise on my own. I found this MOOC extremely instructive both as a scientist and a sportive person.
Anonymous

he course Nutrition, Exercise and Sports is engaging, informative, and very practical. It clearly explains how nutrition and physical activity work together to support health and performance at different stages of life. The content is easy to understand, well-structured, and directly applicable to everyday life. I especially appreciated the real-life examples and focus on healthy habits rather than extremes. Overall, this course increased my awareness of how balanced nutrition and regular exercise contribute to long-term well-being, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their health.
Anonymous

This course isn't a doddle. It is comprehensive and you need to commit to it. But the benefits you receive will be substantial in acquisition of useful/ applicable knowledge for yourself or others you might train or train with is HUGE.
The feedback is fantastic and some of the instructors communicate with you to clarify certain aspect of your answers, so you receive correct information before proceeding onto the next topic.
You are encouraged to explore your own exercise, diet and ? supplementation regime, analysing their appropriateness as well as investigating on the web re other topics.
I have gained substantial knowledge that I can use both for myself and for instructing others.
Anonymous

A complete course that covers the bases of sports nutrition very well and dwells on a very high-risk population like it is with older adults and how a higher protein intake and resistance exercise are vital to improve their quality of life, performance, and independence.
Anonymous

Informative and great instructors! I would recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn more about exercise and nutrition under the context of sports.
Anonymous

I loved everything about this course. It was clear, concise, and extremely cohesive.

The selected topics were outstanding—engaging, informative, and thoughtfully presented. I even learned several new things, even with a kinesiology degree!

I hope to one day visit the campus and meet the professors. The course was beautifully illustrated, with excellent examples, and it truly went above and beyond to clarify complex concepts—through experiments, real-world applications, and interviews.

Thank you for championing the importance of exercise, sport, and nutrition, and for encouraging deeper understanding so we can all work toward better health
Anonymous

Good prog.It needs some interective video session and doubt clearing sessions with concerned faculties. Role of physiotherapists and yog has to be given more space besides nutrition and medical interventions.
Anonymous

This course from Wageningen University provides a high-level, science-driven exploration of how nutrients interact with physical activity to influence performance and health. It is particularly strong in its focus on the "synergistic effect," demonstrating that exercise acts as the stimulus while nutrition serves as the essential facilitator for adaptation.
Anonymous

The course is excellent. I have learned a lot of applied science. The principles learned during the course will help me to plan macro- and micro-nutrients intake (amount, quality, timing) around exercise. It has also explained some of my observations (hitting the wall, etc).
The section on aging is also extremely interesting for elder people i know, as well as for my (near) future.
A big thank you to the teachers!!
Anonymous

Personally found it very enlightening. The information was presented in chunks in an easy to understand format. The presenters did an excellent job in the way the information was provided. The content was excellent and covered all aspects in a very…

Personally found it very enlightening. The information was presented in chunks in an easy to understand format. The presenters did an excellent job in the way the information was provided. The content was excellent and covered all aspects in a very methodical manner. The quizzes and questions were thought provoking and challenged me to use the information provided in a practical manner.
Only issue is the inability to get a certificate of completion despite having done the course minus the verified exam. The certificate is needed for continuing professional development points. Unfortunately some of us do not have money lying around to pay for the graded certificate, especially during these trying times.
Thanks for offering this course that helped me understand the importance of nutrition and physical activity and how to practically use it in my life.
Anonymous

Excellent course and I learned many things that can be practically applied to my own endeavors to stay healthy as I age . The course seems to focus mainly on improving the performance of elite athletes although there was a good section on healthy a…

Excellent course and I learned many things that can be practically applied to my own endeavors to stay healthy as I age . The course seems to focus mainly on improving the performance of elite athletes although there was a good section on healthy aging . I would argue that most people are not elite athletes so there was a substantial element missing that of improving the exercise of typical people who undertake sport/exercise. The emphasis on elite athletes seemed counter-intuitive to healthy eating advice particularly in relation to eating simple carbohydrates and the current issues with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. I would have liked to see more about healthy nutrition to support those who what to use nutrition and exercise to achieve a healthy weight and more importantly body composition.
Harbans Singh
3

Nutrition, exercise & performances are interrelated with each other. The performance of an athlete depends upon the level of exercises in particular sport / event and the proper nutrition provides energy requirement , the performance will be satisfa…

Nutrition, exercise & performances are interrelated with each other. The performance of an athlete depends upon the level of exercises in particular sport / event and the proper nutrition provides energy requirement , the performance will be satisfactory.

The nutrition as per the demand or the requirements of the body of an athlete to get the sufficient calories to maintain will definite grow his muscle fibers / tissues for its recovery & kerp him ready for further training session. This chain of nutrition , exercises & performance will work together. The valium of exercise the supply of calories determine the level of performance of an athlete/ sports person.

The quality of nutrition is very important for its early digestion. The quality & quality of nutrition plays vital roll in the body weight category sports like weightlifting, Judo, boxing etc.
Anonymous

I have absolutely loved this course. It is extensive, and very well thought out, with links to studies and other resources. I have learnt an enormous amount, much of which I will incorporate into my lifestyle and training.