Functional and performance nutrition

Overview

Nutrition is a critical aspect of individual function, health and performance.

Our laboratory and field-based research aims to investigate applied mechanisms of dietary interventions, specific micronutrients and commercially available sports nutrition products in terms of their effects on underlying health, performance and recovery.

This is reflected in the commercial grants awarded to investigate various marketing claims and direct effects of such interventions on athletic performance.

The group covers a variety of research areas, has links with most UK-based nutrition companies and works with untrained, amateur and world-class athletes alike as well as the general population with respect to nutrition and physical activity.  

The main strands of research involve:  

• Investigative research underpinning commercial and marketing claims   
• Specific macronutrient and dietary manipulation to enhance performance and recovery    
• Specific micronutrient intake on aspects of biomedical health and recovery    
• Effective actions of commercially available sports/clinical nutrition products on health and performance  

Recent and current projects

• The effect of commercially available sports drinks on exercise performance, carbohydrate availability and fluid delivery
• The influence of a new green tea extract formula on bioavailability, fat oxidation and exercise performance    
• The effects of green tea extract and moderate intensity exercise on fat oxidation rates and arterial compliance    
• The influence of magnesium citrate on blood pressure dynamics    
• The influence of conjugated linoleic acid on fat oxidation in healthy volunteers     
• The effect of combined bovine colostrum and recovery drinks on aspects of strength performance    
• Assessing the effects of caffeine deception as a means to elicit a placebo effect on exercise performance  
• Nutritional knowledge and dietary intake in UK track and field athletes     
• Assessment of dietary antioxidants versus training load in academy football athletes The assessment of high and low-protein diets with or without beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on strength and fitness gains in an academy football cohort
• Nutritional and physiological profiling of athletes undertaking an Antarctic ultra-endurance race
• The effects of sprint interval training and endurance training on the anaerobic threshold, dietary intake, cardiovascular parameters and exercise performance  

Previous commercial research

• Roberts, J. D., Thomas, C., Weeks, J. and Roberts, M.G (2011) The Effectiveness of a New Green Tea Extract Formula on Plasma Bioavailability, Fat Oxidation Stability and Exercise Performance. An independent assessment undertaken for a leading Sports Nutrition Company. Grant awarded: £15,000.
• Roberts, J.D., Tarpey, M.D., Kass, L.S. and Roberts, M.G. (2009). An investigation of a commercially available sports drink on repeated exercise performance. An independent research investigation undertaken for a leading Sports Nutrition Company. Grant awarded: £15,000.   
• Gargiulo, F. and Roberts, J.D. (2009) The Effect of Bovine Colostrum and Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation on Performance Characteristics in Male Athletes. Collaborative research project with a main clinical nutrition company. Grant awarded: £4,000.  
• Roberts, J.D., Roberts, M., Kass, L. and Jones, P. (2006) The Ingestion of Combined Glucose and Fructose During Exercise: Influence on Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation, Fluid Availability and Performance. An independent comparative analysis undertaken for a leading Sports Nutrition company. Grant awarded: £25,000.  

Collaborations   

With fast-growing interest in nutrigenomics and metabolomics – the functional and performance nutrition research group operates in conjunction with the Adaptive and Metabolic Physiology Research team, and has collaborative associations with the following groups and external agencies: 

• The Post Graduate Medical School
• Sport Psychology Research group
• The Sports Therapy team
• The Performance Testing Centre; in collaboration with our commercial testing services
• Various sports and clinical nutrition companies in the UK