Foodservice at the Olympics: Vital Needs, Future Perspectives

by Susie Parker-Simmons, MS, RD; Nanna L. Meyer, PhD, RD; Abigail Larson, MS, CSCS; and Karen Daigle, MS, RD

During the Olympic Games, foodservice at the Olympic Village should be worry-free for athletes and support staff, since the foundation for sound sports nutrition has already been established. Athletes have learned the reasons for eating well and fueling their bodies for top performance, and they've been implementing effective nutrition strategies at home and on the road. Hence, the Olympics should be all about their performance, with the food infrastructure (ie, the eating establishments and food availability) providing a familiar and fresh venue to feed and fuel their individual dietary needs.

Too often, however, foodservice at the Olympics breeds unfamiliarity, dissatisfaction, and even food safety concerns--and any one of these can trigger unnecessary anxiety in the athlete. As Abigail Larson, MS, one of the panel speakers and recent cross-country skiing Olympian, says: "When so many parts of daily life are foreign, the stress and pressure of competing at the Olympic Games can be significant for many athletes. Dining and meal times should not be a part of this stress. It is absolutely essential for athletes to be comfortable with the food they are being served. This is not only for performance purposes but also for comfort and piece of mind."

The Olympic Village houses athletes from all continents of the world. On average, 13 million meals are cooked during the Olympics. Part of this international experience is to taste flavors from around the globe, although the primary purpose of the multinational cuisine is to satisfy athletes from different cultures. Not all athletes choose to stay in the Olympic Village, however. Some prefer to stay outside of the Village because of special dietary needs, privacy desires, or location preferences relative to the venues.

Only recently have Olympic foodservice organizations teamed up with sports dietitians to improve and broaden the dietary variety offered in the Village. During the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) worked closely with the foodservice establishments. Besides emphasizing international and home-grown Australian fare, SDA hosted an Olympic Nutrition Website and Nutrition Kiosk to screen meals for dietary composition.

The sports dietitian who is given the role of chef during the Olympic Games needs to possess many attributes and capabilities. Among these are an understanding of cultural foods and language for meal planning and food purchasing, the skills of a professional chef, a willingness to be flexible, a high degree of staying power, and knowledge of Olympic demands relative to the athlete's physiology and psychology. Sports dietitians working with national governing bodies and providing meals for athletes off-site must obtain timely information on the expected infrastructure.

The concept that sports dietitians from around the world collaborate to prepare for foodservice at the Olympics is new. In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, an international group of sport nutrition professionals has connected through cyberspace, an effort initiated through the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport (PINES). The project's main goal is to provide a culturally-diverse and safe foodservice experience in the Olympic Village that would also be consistent with current sport nutrition guidelines.

Susie Parker-Simmons, MS, RD and Karen Daigle, MS, RD, are both sports dietitians for USOC, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Nanna L. Meyer, PhD, RD, is a research associate and sports dietitian, The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, , in Salt Lake City, Utah. Abigail Larson, MS, CSCS, is a doctoral student in the Exercise and Sport Science Department, University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, Utah,

Further Information
Beijing 2008 Project. For information:

Karen.Daigle@usoc.org

Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport (PINES). For information: Nanna.Meyer@intermountainmail.org

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