About

Sports Nutrition is a new and dynamic application field. Upon awareness of different sciences’ significance in athlete health and performance and the development of the market in that field, the necessity for dietitians with specific education in that field has increased.

Dietitians, who are specialized in sports nutrition, work in the fields of elite athletes, recreational contestants, sports clubs, active children and military personnel, in which the physical capacity is of importance. Main responsibilities of dietitians, who work in athlete nutrition field, are providing individual, group/team counselling and planning nutrition education towards competition performance enhancement. It is important to determine the body composition with the correct methods in order to provide individual counselling for the athletes. Another responsibility of dietitians, who are specialized in sports nutrition, is to provide nutrition counselling for planning of nutrition during, before and after training. Program aims to provide access to accurate information, especially about appropriate time and dosage of ergogenic aids for students by means of access to right scientific publication and correct interpretation of the research articles. The sports centers and clubs, where the student will perform in accordance with the program, will provide opportunity to transform these information to practical application. Also, providing documentation and follow-up of the implementations about nutrition; delivering right resources about food and nutrition to trainers, instructors and parents; developing education materials by way of planning nutrition educations that are compatible with age groups; and also, providing sustainability of professional competence and skillset required for vocational practice are other responsibilities of dietitians who are specialized in sports nutrition.

In order to accomplish these requirements, dietitians, who are specialized in sports nutrition, will also need graduate education with theoretical courses and practical training in exercise physiology and exercise biochemistry sciences, on top of their basic 4-year Nutrition and Dietetics undergraduate degree. One of the strong aspects of this program is that the students are able to study theoretical courses in practice at Acibadem Fulya Sports Athlete Health Center. Another strong aspect of the graduate program is that it provides the opportunity of practice for the students on the sports branch which they train or which they plan to train. By this way, students’ personal development will be achieved by means of discussions about their observations and implementations of practices. In accordance with improved athlete nutrition graduate program, dietitians will be more competent and experienced about the required assessment of the athlete; and at the same time, they will have the necessary knowledge and skillset for collaborative work with professional from other various fields.

Prof. Murat Baş

Head of Program