SPSC 406 Concepts of Fitness and Nutrition Fall 2022

SPSC 406 Concepts of Fitness and
Nutrition Fall 2022
Case study (20%)
The following case study should be word processed (Arial or Times New Roman Size 12
Font, double spaced lines, justified text {Ctrl +J}) and submitted electronically through
Turnitin no later than 11:59 pm Thursday 29th December 2022.
The case study length (excluding references, titles, text in figures/tables) should not exceed
3000 words. You will be penalised if your word count is greater than this. Include a word count
on your final page (you will be penalised if you give a false word count).
Late submissions will be treated according to the late assignment policy.
Further and specific details on how to successfully complete this assessment are outlined
below. Please ensure you read the following sections carefully.
Overview
Aim: To explain and justify the use of a supplement (this supplement must be legal/not
banned) for an athlete of your choice
You must decide:
1. The athlete (e.g. cyclist, footballer, triathlete, boxer etc.)
2. The supplement
Examples of supplements:
• Caffeine
• Creatine
• Sodium bicarbonate
2
• Beetroot juice
• Cherry juice
• Blueberry juice
• Whey protein
• Vitamin D
• Fish oils
• Probiotics
NB. If you wish to use a supplement not listed above, please email me for approval
Your case study must be presented in essay format and you will be graded according to the
following sections:
• Introduction (5%)
• Supplement (25%)
• Mechanisms (20%)
• Justification (35%)
• Spelling, grammar etc (10%)
• References (5%)
Introduction (5%)
• Brief and concise overview of case study
• Ensure the introduction is specific to your athlete and supplement
• Include a rationale/aim of the case study
• Scientific articles e.g. experimental research, meta-analyses, review articles should be
cited throughout your introduction
• NB. Write the introduction last, it should provide an overview/context for your whole
case study
Supplement (25%)
• Provide clear, correct, and in-depth information on amount/dose, timing, type of
supplement you are recommending
• Provide practical and suitable recommendations for using this supplement relevant to
the athlete/sport
3
• Discuss side effects/disadvantages/dangers of taking this supplement
Mechanisms (20%)
• In detail explanation of the mechanisms that underpin the supplement you have chosen
using appropriate physiological terminology (use schematics/diagrams to help explain
these mechanisms if required)
• Relate the mechanisms to the athlete/sport
• Relevant scientific articles included
• Breadth of scientific articles present
• Up to date scientific articles present
Justification (35%)
• Justify the chosen supplement for the chosen athlete/sport using evidence from the
literature (i.e. previous studies)
• Include critical analyses in this justification. For example, is evidence clear about the
amount, type, timing of the supplement? Is this research valid/reliable, is the research
different for male/female athletes, does all the research show positive effects? etc
• I recommend you include a summary table of key literature to date – and critically
review this data
• Scientific articles e.g. experimental research, meta-analyses, review articles should be
cited throughout this section in support
Spelling, grammar etc (10%)
• Use third person passive voice
• Use past tense
• Use appropriate paragraphs, commas etc
• Case study flows

Solution:

To complete this case study, you will need to choose an athlete and a supplement, and then explain and justify the use of the supplement for the chosen athlete. You will need to provide clear, correct, and in-depth information on the amount/dose, timing, and type of the supplement, and make practical and suitable recommendations for using it in relation to the athlete and their sport. You should also discuss any side effects, disadvantages, or dangers of taking the supplement.

In the mechanisms section, you should provide a detailed explanation of the mechanisms that underpin the chosen supplement using appropriate physiological terminology, and relate these mechanisms to the chosen athlete and their sport. You should include relevant scientific articles and ensure that the articles are up to date and of a breadth sufficient to support your argument.

In the justification section, you should use evidence from the literature to justify the chosen supplement for the chosen athlete and sport. This should include a critical analysis of the evidence, including questions such as whether the research is valid and reliable, whether the results apply equally to male and female athletes, and whether all the research shows positive effects. You may want to include a summary table of key literature to date and critically review this data…………..