The High-Performance Centre of Mauritius (HPC) is a sports organisation, primed to develop elite athletes and high performance sport. The HPC is committed to enhancing all areas of sport science, and elite level coaching. It is also, officially registered at the Association of Sports Performance Centres (ASPC), which guides the excellence in provision of support to the Mauritian athlete. With the upcoming sister institute nestled in the same environment as the HPC, named as the National Institute of Sports Medicine (NISM), came the need and the enthusiasm for research and innovation in sports nutrition.
In line with the National Sports & Physical Activity Policy, the “Performance Kitchen” project will be aimed at : educating athletes on budget prioritisation and healthy food selection; adapt the Mauritian cooking skills to meet the nutritional demands of the body to optimise fuelling before, after and during training/competition; educating athletes on using food as a “supplement” to enhance healthy performance, the super food concept; to create nutrient labels in a selected nutrient rich Mauritian raw food
The main objective of the HPC is to improve Athletes Performances, especially on the on international platforms. While the HPC is focusing majorly on athlete’s training (Strength and Conditioning), it has been noticed that most of our national high-level athletes are struggling to have a proper sport specific diet
The outreach impact of project Performance Kitchen can also be expanded to the families of the athletes and the general population. Out of being role models for youngsters, athletes can showcase that good eating does not equate to expensive eating. The nutrition education undertaken in the present study improved the understanding of the elite athletes on dietary nutrition. Specifically, atheletes improved their nutrition knowledge by 19%, which resulted in positive dietary changes that better aligned dietary intake to daily training. Nevertheless, it should be acknowledged that there is still room for improvement until their overall nutritional knowledge can reach the optimal standards. Data regarding anthropometrics and blood count measures did not show any definitive conclusion. Still, the study represents a first innovative step in identifying the status on nutrition knowledge and attitudes among elite athletes in Mauritius.
