Profile of Sportspersons from South India and Development of a Tool to Assess their Nutritional Status

A sport is a challenging profession. Optimum performance for an athlete is achieved with systematic and consistent training combined with the right nutritional support. The Indian Government has been providing a major thrust for sports development. The effects of government interventions in sports are measured by the medals won in International competitions. In India there has been no significant improvement in the final medal tally compared to the previous Olympics held in 2008. A systematic approach to encourage sports has to include socioeconomic realities, provision of nutrition, training and management of injuries.