Chair: Thomas Jansen (NLD) - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Center for Adapted Sports Amsterdam | Reade, The Nether-lands

Abstract

Sports nutrition and especially the use of supplements to enhance exercise performance has gained increasing interest within the elite sports community not only in Olympic but also in Paralympic Sports. However, it seems not advisable to transfer recommendations for able-bodied athletes into wheelchair sports due to the fact that e.g. a spinal cord injury leads to several physiological changes including resting and sport specific energy expenditure, metabolism and body composition, which might affect nutrition and supplement use. During the course of this invited symposium, different aspects of nutrition and supplement use in wheelchair sports will be elucidated. The first speaker, Prof. Thomas Janssen (Vrije Uni-versiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands), will provide a general overview of the consequences of a spinal cord injury from a nutritional point of view, whereas Prof. Vicky Goosey-Tolfrey (Loughborough University, UK) will give some insights into nutritional supplement habits and perceptions in wheelchair sports. Finally, Dr. Joëlle Flück (Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil, Switzerland) will focus on supplement use and exercise performance in elite wheelchair sports. The symposium aims to address to a broad audience interested in nutrition and supplementation in general but especially in Paralympic sports.

Speakers:

1. Thomas Jansen (NLD) - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Center for Adapted Sports Amsterdam | Reade, The Nether-lands

Title Presentation: Nutritional consequences of a spinal cord injury: an overview

2. Vicky Goosey-Tolfrey (GBR) - Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.

Title Presentation: Nutritional supplement habits and perceptions in wheelchair sports

3. Joëlle Flück (CHE) - Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil, Switzerland

Title Presentation: To use or not to use? - Supplements and wheelchair exercise performance