MANILA, Philippines–Athletes of all kinds are faced with extraordinary challenges brought upon by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Philippine Olympic Committee will try to ease some of these burdens with a webinar series which begins at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
A free-for-all talk discussing food and nutrition in the time of pandemic will be led by sports nutritionist Jeaneth Aro through the POC’s Facebook page.
“Athletes are actually in a very difficult situation during this time of [the] pandemic,” said Aro, whose clients include the Philippine national boxing team, TNT KaTropa, Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, and IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas.
“Many athletes are not doing anything now aside from the once-a-day training that they do to just maintain their physical fitness,” she added.
Aro said that a dip in the level of activity hounds athletes who usually train two to three times a day, especially those who were preparing for major competitions like the Olympic qualifiers or the Olympic Games
itself.
“Without proper guidance, it is very easy for athletes to lose track of both the kind and amount of their food intake especially when boredom or stress/anxiety hits them,” she said.
Aro will be joined by Diaz and another Olympic hopeful in Nesthy Petecio. Swimming legend Akiko Thomson will serve as the moderator.
An earlier Inquirer report revealed that athletes are extra vulnerable to mental problems during prolonged isolation.
Aro said stress and anxiety could cause extended wakefulness or even sleep deprivation, which could prompt athletes in craving foods with high fat and sugar content.