Git it sports nutrition drivers#
Git it sports nutrition driver#

Some research papers have suggested that certain low body fat ranges are “underfat”, implying they are “unhealthy”, for instance Gallaher et al 2000, suggest 20-40yr old men who are under 8% body fat are “underfat” and a “healthy” range is 8-19%. This table would suggest that Jenson Button is at the bottom of the healthy body fat range for athletes, however, there is a lot of controversy over what fat percentage is optimal for overall health. Storage fat is built up when more ‘energy’ is eaten than used and can later be broken down when needed. The chart below is from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) (1) and is one of the most commonly used to show body fat percentages across the population. Storage fat, on the other hand, is not essential and is a measure of the fat stock-piled as an energy reserve. Essential body fat is the fat that is a constituent part of brain tissue, nerve tissue, bone marrow, organs and membranes and we need this fat for our bodies to function properly. A body fat measurement consists of both essential body fat and storage fat.

With many of the top earning sports personalities from athletics, football and tennis also reported as having single digit body fat percentages it is perhaps worth looking at what body fat percentages and investigating what is a healthy level for sports people.īody fat percentages are increasingly being used instead of BMI as a measurement of healthy body weight.

Git it sports nutrition drivers#

Jenson Button at 6ft and just 70Kg (11st) is outside this weight band but is widely acknowledged as being one of the leanest drivers in the sport, with a body fat percentage of just 6%.

Git it sports nutrition driver#

Red Bull’s 6ft Australian driver Mark Webber (75Kg, 11st 11lb) has responded by saying he “hasn’t eaten for last 5 years” and suggesting the perfect driver weight is already between 9st 6lb and 10st 3lb (60-65kg), hinting that this is one of the differences between his performance and that of his team mate Vettel who at 64kg (10st) is one of the lightest drivers. The motor sport press has reported that highly regarded Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg “missed out on a seat at Ferrari next season and is being viewed skeptically by other top teams” because, at 6ft and 78 kilograms (12st 2lb), his weight will be a disadvantage under next season’s rules. The new 2014 regulations for Formula One increase the combined weight limit for car and driver by 48 kilograms (7.56st), to 690 kilograms (108.66st) but as the 2014 V6 turbo engines are at least 50 kilograms (7.87st) heavier than existing models, this will put pressure on driver weights. However headlines this week have highlighted that size can matter, as a number of Formula One drivers state their concern that next year’s weight rules will push the taller and heavier drivers out of the sport. I concluded that in most sports, body shape is not of primary importance.

In the article ‘ So you want to be an olympian’ I looked at whether you are born an athlete or become one with training.