11.

Outcome

Stage 2 Research Project B 2017

School Assessment Cover Sheet

Assessment Type 2: Research Outcome
SACE Registration Number:
6

Research Question:
How Does Nutrition Affect Performance?
word count - 1989

This outcome is assessed using the following specific features:

Synthesis
S1
S2
S3

NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

Performance Standards for Stage 2 Research Project B

-

Synthesis

S1 Insightful synthesis of knowledge, skills, and ideas to produce a resolution to the research
question.
S2 Insightful and thorough substantiation of key findings relevant to the research outcome.
S3 Clear and coherent expression of ideas.

S1 Considered synthesis of knowledge, skills, and ideas to produce a resolution to the research
question.
S2 Substantiation of most key findings relevant to the research outcome.
S3 Mostly clear and coherent expression of ideas.

S1 Satisfactory synthesis of knowledge, skills, and ideas to produce a resolution to the research
question.
S2 Substantiation of some key findings relevant to the research outcome.
S3 Generally clear expression of ideas.

S1 Basic use of information and ideas to produce a resolution to the research question.
S2 Basic explanation of ideas related to the research outcome.
S3 Basic expression of ideas.

S1 Attempted use of an idea to produce a resolution to the research question.

S2 Limited explanation of an idea or an aspect of the research outcome.
S3 Attempted expression of ideas.

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NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

Outcome
SACE Number: 621934t

Name: Jack Somers

Summary

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NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

My research project is designed on how and why nutrition affects human performance. I have conducted a number of tests after the subjects were put
through a specific diet for 24 hours. Hopefully this will show a change in results, and in the end support my hypothesis. On the day prior to the first test the
subjects will be given good and healthy food, following the diet the under 18 state players were given 1. Then the next day given 20 minutes of dynamic
stretches to do, followed by the 3 tests (mobility test, vertical leap test, 30-meter sprint test) 2. The results are recorded. The following week the
participants will be given unhealthy food and then given the same 20 minutes of dynamic stretches and then the same 3 tests 3. The results will be
recorded again, then compared.

Key Findings
The key findings of my research are that nutrition does improve performance 4, this was supported by all of the methods used to collect data; experiments,
interviews and information found online. Amongst the outcomes of my research, the most convincing evidence was found in both the online research and
the experiments. As seen below all of the graphs bar one support the hypothesis. I believe the graph that does not support the hypothesis doesnt due to
inconsistencies and human errors during the tests. The key findings from my initial research after completing the background information phase of the
project was that nutrition affects performance dramatically; my views on the subject changed after completing the tests slightly as the results didnt show
such large changes, but the evidence from the results also supported findings from websites that were used prior to the investigation 5. Online sources
helped shape the diets that I created for each subject, for example, a source that I used said about how vital eating fruit such as bananas prior to working
out was as they are rich in potassium 6 .
Interview and Experiment Results
I came to the conclusion that nutrition does affect performance, the more vital information came from the tests and internet research. But this depends on
the nutritional values that the person decides to take 7. For this experiment the subjects were only using the specific diet for less than 24 hours. Due to
such a short span of time, the results may vary 8. If I was to redo the tests I would make sure the subjects were using the diet for much longer.

Figure 1

Figure 4

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 5

Figure 6

After completing the tests, National Basketball League player Mitch Creek, and a physiotherapist who chose to stay anonymous accepted to partake in an
interview about nutrition in sport. The information obtained from the interviews clarified information and statements on how nutrition influences
performance9. I interviewed Mitch Creek first. He was very supportive of athletes being involved in dietary plans if it is recommended or if the athlete

1 "Fueling for Performance: How Proper Timing Of Meals Affects Both Sport And Academic Performance" [Last Access] 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. //www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/nutritionand-performance/fueling-performance-how-proper-timing-meals-affects-both

2 Performance Evaluation Tests 2016, BrianMac, accessed 2 October 2016. <https://www.brianmac.co.uk/eval.htm>.

3 Performance Evaluation Tests 2016, BrianMac, accessed 2 October 2016. <https://www.brianmac.co.uk/eval.htm>.
4 Bell, Jessica. "How Diet Affects Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.livestrong.com/article/212620-how-diet-affects-athletic-performance/.
5 Sports Nutrition | Nutrition Australia". http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/food-and-nutrition. N.p., [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
6 "How Does Sports Nutrition Affect Performance?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.quora.com/How-does-sports-nutrition-affect-performance.
7 "Better Academic Performance Is Nutrition The Missing Link?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100614p64.shtml.
8 "How Does Nutrition Affect Exercise?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-affect-exercise-6391.html.
9 "Sports And Nutrition: Fueling Your Performance | Center For Young Women's Health". 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://youngwomenshealth.org/2013/07/23/sports-nutrition/.

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NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

wants to further peruse his/her goals10. This agreed with statements found online which suggest that if an athlete is motivated to becoming successful,
they should be put forward onto a diet that will help improve their abilities 11. Mitch also stated that the athletes should be forced to be involved in whatever
diets are suggested or recommended at elite levels such as state or national 12. This information supported multiple sources including the original
statement from the SA Metro office requesting that players should be forced to from a diet plan as it helps performance and recovery 13. As a part time
personal trainer along with his NBL career Mitch is sought out to be one of the more credible sources on the Australian Basketball scene. He has been
involved with diets and recommends diets to the people who attend his trainings, so he may have been bias in some ways. Creek also told me what his
diet looked like while he was playing for the Australian Boomers. This consisted of 3 main courses and 3 light courses every day, usually consisting of
food such as pasta and red meat which has great quantities of carbohydrates and protein. Meal plans similar to this were found online, but varied light
courses depending on what physical improvements you wanted to see 14.The second and final interview was with a highly qualified physiotherapist who
works with athletes from numerous sports in South Australia. This person agreed on some of Creeks points, but not all. As he stated athletes should not
be forced into a specific dietary commitment, but can if they wish. Nutrition sometimes improves performance but not all the time 15. This statement
agreed with information on how nutrition can and cannot affect performance 16. During this interview is when the results from both interviews clashed. This
is because the physiotherapist believed that the amount of main courses and light courses does not matter as much, and instead should be replaced with
the amount of nutrition each meal holds17, and this would also depend on the height and weight of the person partaking in the diet. The physiotherapist
also believed that gluten free diets can be just affective as diets which have gluten. This supports information found on websites designed for athletes
who have chosen to keep certain foods out of their diets due to allergies, beliefs etc. 18
If I was to do this project again I would add more training drills, as this would improve the final results and either further back up my hypothesis, or
contradicts the rest of the evidence. There would also be more repetitions of each drill as this would improve accuracy and eliminate most outliers found. I
would also have the subjects use the diet for a longer period of time prior to participating in the tests. This is a major factor as a 24 hours is a short period
of time and the nutrition may not be in full affect 19. This evidence was supported by numerous online sites. Although there was space for improving, there
was also multiple things that worked very well. This includes the drills used when measuring the athletic abilities of each subject. These drills were
approved online by multiple trainers and sporting clubs 20 and I received the results that I was searching for, all of the feedback from the participants on
the tests were positive. The diet that I chose before the tests was also a positive part of the experiment as it met all nutritional needs and the results
obtained from it was as expected. And the people that I asked to interview all agreed to take part in the interview and were very helpful and effective.
What did not work to plan was the organisation and timing in the tests as I had only chosen to book the gymnasium for 1 hour each week to find the
results, I predicted only 1 hour was needed as that was the sum of the recommended time given for each drill 21. Although the managers of the gym were
lenient and let us use the facility for the extra 30 minutes needed next time I have to be more prepared. Another organizational issue was that one of the
people taking part in the tests had 1 less meal than the others.
The most useful data obtained during the interview stages of the investigation was extremely important as it proved the accuracy and credibility of
sources used during the research stages prior to the experiments. This also supported my hypothesis and the results found from the tests.

Why does it affect performance

After completing the tests, interviews and online research I came to the conclusion that nutrition does affect performance 22. This is seen in long term and
short term diets, especially long term diets as nutrition also positively influences recovery and muscle growth 23. From the results in the experiment it

10 Creek, M 2016, pers. comm., 12 September.

11 "Better Academic Performance Is Nutrition The Missing Link?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100614p64.shtml.
12Creek, M 2016, pers. comm., 12 September.
13 "How Can Bad Nutrition Affect An Athlete?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-affect-exercise-6391.html.
14 Does A Gluten-Free Diet Improve Athletic Performance?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy-living-article/60/1242/does-a-gluten-free-dietimprove-athletic/

15 Anonymous, 2016, pers. comm., 14 September.

16 "Sporting Performance And Food". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/sporting-performance-and-food.
17 Anonymous, 2016, pers. comm., 14 September.
18 Does A Gluten-Free Diet Improve Athletic Performance?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy-living-article/60/1242/does-a-gluten-free-dietimprove-athletic/

19 Sports And Nutrition: Fueling Your Performance | Center For Young Women's Health". 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://youngwomenshealth.org/2013/07/23/sports-nutrition/.
20 "Sports Nutrition | Nutrition Australia". http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/food-and-nutrition. N.p., [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
21 "Insidetrack: Can Nutrition Improve Athletic Performance?". [Last Access] 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.insidetracker.com/blog/post/51616245932/can-nutrition-improve-athleticperformance.

22 Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002458.htm
23 Sports And Nutrition: Fueling Your Performance | Center For Young Women's Health". 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://youngwomenshealth.org/2013/07/23/sports-nutrition/.

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NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

shows a dramatic improvement from unhealthy food to healthy foods. Although the data is shown that the healthy foods cause a large change, this
could be due to the negative affect on performance that unhealthy foods have on the body 24. There are many factors which could cause nutrition to affect
performance, some sources believed that metabolism 25 and uncontrollable variables such as blood pressure and glucose levels also influence
performance. Other online sources claimed that mental state and independent quotient affects ones ability to perform 26 and how nutrition may affect the
body in different ways depending on mental stability 27.
After looking into why nutrition affects performance, it was found that one major way that nutrition affects performance on short term diets is that when the
body has calories, carbohydrates, iron, protein, fluids and other minerals in it, it tires at a longer rate than if there were less 28. But the amount of each
value needed changes for each body type 29.

Conclusion
The conclusion drawn from my key findings is that nutrition can affect performance in a positive or negative manor. This supports my hypothesis. This is
due to the body performing better after eating foods which hold calories, carbohydrates, fluids, protein, iron and other minerals 30. Although there are
numerous other reasons why these results may occur, I believe that in this case is was due to nutrition. The results that I found in the experiment backed
up information obtained from the people that I interviewed and the information found online. This proved be a good and efficient way of measuring
performance.

24 How Can Bad Nutrition Affect An Athlete?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-affect-exercise-6391.html.
25 How A Low Carb Diet Affected My Athletic Performance (Part 4) - The Eating Academy | Peter Attia, M.D.". The Eating Academy | Peter Attia, M.D. [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept.
2016. http://eatingacademy.com/how-a-low-carb-diet-affected-my-athletic-performance.

26 "How Does Nutrition Affect Athletic Performances Physical Education Essay". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/physical-education/how-doesnutrition-affect-athletic-performances-physical-education-essay.php.

27 Psychological factors in sport performance 2015, PubMed, accessed 5 September 2016, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11665914>.
28 Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/717046.
29 Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.eatrightpro.org/resource/practice/position-and-practice-papers/position-papers/nutrition-andathletic-performance.

30 Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/717046.

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NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

Reference List

Anonymous, 2016, pers. comm., 14 September.

Bell, Jessica. "How Diet Affects Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.livestrong.com/article/212620-how-dietaffects-athletic-performance/.

"Better Academic Performance Is Nutrition The Missing Link?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100614p64.shtml.

"Does A Gluten-Free Diet Improve Athletic Performance?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy-livingarticle/60/1242/does-a-gluten-free-diet-improve-athletic/

"Fueling for Performance: How Proper Timing Of Meals Affects Both Sport And Academic Performance" [Last Access] 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
//www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/nutrition-and-performance/fueling-performance-how-proper-timing-meals-affects-both

"How A Low Carb Diet Affected My Athletic Performance (Part 4) - The Eating Academy | Peter Attia, M.D.". The Eating Academy | Peter Attia, M.D.
[Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://eatingacademy.com/how-a-low-carb-diet-affected-my-athletic-performance.

"How Can Bad Nutrition Affect An Athlete?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-affect-exercise6391.html.

"How Does Diet Affect Sports Performance?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.reference.com/health/diet-affect-sportsperformance-3cad180f6d173022.

"How Does Nutrition Affect Athletic Performances Physical Education Essay". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/physical-education/how-does-nutrition-affect-athletic-performances-physical-education-essay.php.

THE BEST PRE-WORKOUT FOODS 2016, Mens Fitness, accessed 2 September 2016, <http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/best-preworkout-foods>.

"How Does Sports Nutrition Affect Performance?". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.quora.com/How-does-sports-nutrition-affectperformance.

"Insidetrack: Can Nutrition Improve Athletic Performance?". [Last Access] 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
https://www.insidetracker.com/blog/post/51616245932/can-nutrition-improve-athletic-performance.

Creek, M 2016, pers. comm., 12 September.

"Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002458.htm

"Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/717046.

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NAME: Jack Somers

SACE Number: 621934t

"Nutrition And Athletic Performance". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.eatrightpro.org/resource/practice/position-and-practicepapers/position-papers/nutrition-and-athletic-performance.

Performance Evaluation Tests 2016, BrianMac, accessed 2 October 2016. <https://www.brianmac.co.uk/eval.htm>.

"Sporting Performance And Food". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/sportingperformance-and-food.

"Sports And Nutrition: Fueling Your Performance | Center For Young Women's Health". 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
http://youngwomenshealth.org/2013/07/23/sports-nutrition/.

"Sports Nutrition | Nutrition Australia". http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/food-and-nutrition. N.p., [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"Sports Nutrition | Nutritional Advice For Teens". [Last Access] 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. Pamf.org/ teen/health/nutrition/sportnutrition.html.

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