ACSM Olympic Games Expert Commentary

Michael Phelps' Nutrition Regimen

Rumor has it that swimmer extraordinaire Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day. As my client, a petite figure skater, commented, "That's what I eat in five days. Do some athletes really eat that much?"

Whether or not 10,000 calories a day is accurate is beyond my knowledge base, but for someone who swims five hours a day and also does dry-land training, Michael could indeed require close to that many calories. (So do some triathletes and others who do exorbitant amounts of exercise.) And it looks like he does a good job of choosing an effective sports diet. He enjoys carbs as the foundation of each meal (grits, pancakes, bread, pasta) with protein as the accompaniment (eggs, cheese, meat, along with a little bit of fat for flavor, calories and satiety – as well as endurance performance).

It also looks like Michael believes in the 90-10 rule: 90 percent quality foods and 10 percent treats (as in the chocolate chips in his pancakes). For a hungry athlete to eat 100-percent "clean foods" would be too time consuming and needless. No one needs to eat a "perfect diet" to have a good diet.

How does a hungry athlete find time to eat 10,000 calories? One trick is to eat compact foods, like a bowl of granola instead of a bowl of Cheerios, or a milk shake instead of a glass of milk.  The other trick is to drink beverages with calories in place of calorie-free plain water. That is, quenching your thirst a quart of Gatorade instead of a quart of water adds 200 calories. A quart of orange juice would offer 400 calories. Replace the Gatorade or OJ with a recovery shake made with milk, powered milk, peanut butter, banana, and some honey, and you can guzzle 800 to 1,000 calories down the hatch.

An important key to consuming high amounts of calories is to have the foods readily available, so when you stop training, you can start fueling. At the Olympics and Olympic training center, food is abundant 24/7. At other times, a personal chef (a.k.a. a mom) could be very handy!

Whatever Michael is eating, it's working for him. Good genetics + hard training + a strong mind + good nutrition is indeed a winning combination. Go for it, Michael. We're proud of you!

Nancy Clark, R.D., FACSM

Gene Doping in Olympic Sports

Much has been written about the emerging threat of "gene doping" in elite-level sport. Gene doping refers to the idea that athletes will literally modify their DNA in an effort to enhance their performance. Gene doping is simply an extension of the medical treatment of “gene therapy”, where DNA is modified in patients seeking treatment or cures for debilitating genetic disease. Despite the hype, no evidence exists showing that an athlete has ever attempted gene doping (though testing for it is basically impossible). Moreover, the likelihood of successful gene doping in Beijing or other near-future sporting events is remote; very significant technical hurdles remain before gene doping would ever be put to successful practice. Gene therapy trials for various medical conditions have been fraught with setbacks (including patient deaths) and progress has been slow. And because gene therapy trials are not being conducted to study sport performance but rather specific medical conditions, successful gene therapy interventions are not likely to have easy cross-over to performance enhancement, which is necessarily a different “condition” than the genetic diseases under investigation. 

Despite these limitations, the history of sport provides ample evidence that a few athletes (and/or their coaches) are not likely to concern themselves with the technical intricacies and dangers posed by gene therapy, especially with the potential for remarkable (in fact, super-human) performance enhancement. In fact, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has already established several recommendations and policies warning athletes against gene doping, though with no way to test for its use. Will an athlete someday attempt gene therapy for performance enhancement? Most certainly, though the outcome is likely to be poor (or lethal), given the significant technical hurdles. Will it happen anytime soon?  Unlikely. Perhaps the best outcome of the media coverage of gene doping will be a broader conversation of the role of performance enhancement techniques in sport. Much has been written about the potential regulation (rather than complete restriction) of drug doping for performance enhancement, and similar arguments have recently been made for gene doping. Expanding this conversation to the broader public will give important direction to improving the health and safety of our athletes.

Stephen M. Roth, Ph.D., FACSM

Department of Kinesiology

University of Maryland

More from ACSM's Staff Roving Reporter...

The sky is not blue. Before I came to China, I heard a lot of talk about the environment and air quality here. There is definitely a noticeable difference between Beijing and Indianapolis. When we were flying into the city, we could distinctly see a layer of smog. First we were above... then flying through it. When we arrived, it was pretty gray and dreary-looking. But that afternoon, things cleared up a little, and there was a hint of blue in the sky. That must have been a rarity – because there has been no blue in the sky the last two days. The smog, coupled with the humidity, makes it pretty uncomfortable outside. And of course, the big tourist attractions are outdoors, so that's where we've been spending a lot of our time.

Before I left the States, several people asked me if I was bringing a mask. I did not, but I have seen some residents wearing masks. They are few and far between, but it seems like mostly older folks. As far as Olympic personnel, athletes and volunteers, we haven't seen any of them wearing masks.

Olympic Venue Security

Everything I'd heard said to arrive at the Olympic venues early. So we took that to heart. I think we were the only ones. There is a special subway line that goes to the Olympic Green, National Stadium, Indoor Stadium, and Water Cube. Everyone must have a ticket to an event at one of those venues and go through security before they can get on this subway line. It's kind of nice to have security more centralized so you can get it over with and not worry about it once you get to the Olympic Green area. On Saturday, we arrived at security around 9:30 – our event started at noon. There was no security line and we breezed right though with no problems. We were in our seats for men's gymnastics by 10:30. We were practically the only people in the area. It didn't start filling up until about 11:30. On Sunday, security was a little different. We went to men's basketball, so we headed to a different venue in a different area of the city. This time, after our bags went through the machine, they wanted to look inside. I had Advil, cough drops, and Dayquil (I'm a bit ill). They tried to throw them away – I think because they looked like candy. I tried to explain that it was medicine, but they didn't really speak English. I must have finally been convincing, or else they just gave up – because they let me take my meds with me.

Stephanie Garwood
ACSM Staff

Competing with Cancer

US Olympic swimmer, Eric Shanteau, has an outstanding chance of living a long life, despite his recent diagnosis with testicular cancer.  Without knowing the specifics of his case, it can be said that 96% of testicular cancer patients survive 5+ years beyond their diagnosis, up from 83% in the 1970’s due to improvements in curative treatment.  These improvements are due to the introduction of platinum based chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin and carboplatin and the curative removal of lymph nodes in the pelvis.  These treatments, while vastly improving survival from multiple cancers, including testicular and ovarian, are no free lunch.  Their use is definitely warranted, given the large improvement in cancer survival.  However, adverse long term and late effects of these treatments include second primary cancers, lymphedema,  cardiovascular sequelae, the metabolic syndrome, neurotoxicity, and pulmonary problems.  The good news is that exercise training has been shown to improve many of these conditions in cancer survivors.  The American Cancer Society has published guidance for exercise and health eating to minimize, prevent, and rehabilitate long term and late effects of cancer treatment, based on a growing body of evidence published in the scientific peer-reviewed literature.  Mr. Shanteau may wish to make up his mind now to maintain his exercise habits and healthy diet for the remainder of his life.

Like Lance Armstrong before him, Mr. Shanteau has an opportunity to be a role model.  However, in 2008, we know more about the long term effects of cancer treatment and the potential role exercise may play in maintaining health during and after cancer treatment than we did at the time of Mr. Armstrong’s diagnosis.  Perhaps, in the long run, the role Mr. Shanteau can play could include promotion of healthy lifestyles among the 12 million cancer survivors alive in the U.S. today.  In the short run, we’ll all cross our fingers for him that his weekly CT scans and blood work allow him to complete his Olympic dream, with his father (a lung cancer survivor) watching from the stands. Good luck and God speed, Eric.

Kathryn H. Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM

Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Abramson Cancer Center