By Chris Mugasha
The Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID) in partnership with the Uganda Olympic Committee have launched the “Olympic Day-Tooke Run” with a call on stakeholders in the sports sector to give issues of nutrition some attention.
Speaking at the launch of the Tooke run this week (on Tuesday) at Nyaruzinga in Bushenyi town, Dr Donald Rukare the President of Uganda Olympics committee expressed concern saying some stakeholders in the sports sector have tended to focus much on training leaving out the aspect of the trainees’ nutrition noting that proper nutrition is good for sports performance as it fuels endurance, sharpens focus as well as accelerating recovery and long life careers for most athletes.
The run which is slated for 20th June in Bushenyi district is expected to be presided over by the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who doubles as PIBID’s patron.
This ‘Olympic Day-Tooke Run’ is being run under the theme “Move, Learn, Discover with nutrition care.” Among its objectives include supporting athletes at international standards, combating early childhood malnutrition and building a sustainable nutrition eco system for all. It will also be a day to celebrate Tooke, a crop that feeds millions of people, a crop that has put Uganda on the World map and a crop that supports millions of families.
According to Rukare, poor nutrition has resulted to poor finishes especially during some of the International games.
He however attributed the poor nutrition to lack of proper alternatives of food to support the sports industry.
“Whenever we are abroad participating in the international games, some of our players find it difficult to get the right foods while for players from countries like China they come with about one tone of their own food,” the President disclosed.
“It all begins with what our children are eating otherwise talents alone cannot carry our athletes to the international podiums to receive medals,” Rukare said adding that, “We must build long lasting systems that strengthens the nutritional foundation,” he said.
Rukare commended the PIBID Director General Rev.Prof Florence Muranga for coming on board to bridge the gap of nutrition in the sports sector.
Food scientist speak out
Muranga a global food scientist said nutrition plays an important role in sports saying to compete at the highest global levels, athletes need more than talent and training.
“They require scientifically backed and grounded nutrition. The human body requires high quality fuel, particularly carbohydrates and healthy fats to sustain energy,” Muranga explained. These are stored as glycogen in muscles and the liver, enabling endurance and delaying fatigue maximizing stamina during both rigorous training and competition, according to Muranga.
“It is noteworthy that intense physical activity causes micro-tears in muscle tissue. Therefore, consuming high quality nutrition especially post-work out provides the essential building blocks needed to repair there tears, build new muscle fibres and significantly reduce recovery time between demanding sessions,” Muranga elaborated.
“Furthermore, hydration and electrolyte balance regulate body temperature, lubricate body joints, prevent debilitating muscle cramps and maintain health cardiovascular function during exertion. Through a tailored nutritional programme therefore, athletes can achieve and maintain their ideal body composition, maximizing their power-to-weight ratio, agility and overall mechanical efficiency,” Muranga asserted.
She said the Tooke run’s initiative seeks to raise awareness on the importance of nutrition in sports and youth development, particularly with respect to children who are the prospective sportsmen and women.
“Malnutrition at the weaning stage remains one of the greatest barriers to good health, education and athletic development, with many illnesses later in life traceable to poor nutrition in early childhood,” Muranga who is the UOC Ambassador for Nutrition noted.
Referring to the World Health Organization report, Muranga said statistics indicate that malnutrition indeed remains a critical public health challenge in Uganda with over one-third of children under five affected by stunted growth and acute malnutrition.
“By integrating our indigenous agricultural wealth with world-class sports nutrition know-how, we are not merely running a race; we are paving a commercialization roadmap that empowers rural green banana farmers while fueling our national champions as well as solving a debilitating economic drawback namely malnutrition of children,” she affirmed.
The Bushenyi district leaders led by the district chairman Prosper Twebaze said they will use the event to identify the talents which can later be trained to participate at the international level.
Back ground
On 14th March, the Uganda Olympic Committee and Commonwealth games Uganda entered into strategic three-year partnership with the Banana industrial research and development center in Bushenyi district designating Tooke as the official nutrition partner.
This partnership has since yielded into the Olympic day-Tooke run which is slated for June 20th in Bushenyi district. The event which will take place at the Bushenyi sports ground will feature 21km, 10kms, 5kms and it will attract both local and international participants. Running kits have also been launched and each kit goes for Shs35,000=.
The proceeds from this run will among others sponsor Ugandan athletes to the youth Olympic Games in Dakar Senegal and to raise critical nutrition support for vulnerable populations/communities in the country. End.
