Book Review
Sportswomen par
Excellence
TARA’S PROJECT by Ratnabali Mitra, published by
Children’s Book Trust, 2011, Pages 40, Price Rs. 35
THE connection between nutrition and the ability to perform well
in sports has been long recognized. No wonder sports nutrition is
an established niche in its own right. There are reams written on
the types/amount of food that sports persons require. For example,
a Sumo wrestler can weigh as much as 150 kg and needs to
consume about 10 times what an average person needs.
Although women have traditionally not taken part in Sumo
wrestling in Japan, times are changing. Mongolian women have
come forward to enter Sumo-style wrestling and their diet too is
calorie-rich. Adherence to a strict dietary regimen is needed to
maintain the Sumo-level of fitness.
A gymnast on the other hand needs to be lean and well
muscled to be agile enough for the demands of the sports.
According to Australian Institute of Sports, female gymnastics are
required to maintain a low body weight-to-height ratio for peak
performance. Young female gymnasts receive regular assessment
of body weight and body fat levels in order to maintain their
physique even as they mature and marked changes take place
in their physiology. The need to remain lean demands diets low in
energy (kilojoules). This places them at risk of inadequate nutrient
intake of carbohydrate, calcium and iron.
The difference in the diets permitted for a Sumo wrestler
and a gymnast underlines the dietary constraints of sportspersons
competing in different fields. The strength of the book under
review is that it highlights the fact that a proper diet is required for
all sports, be it running marathons, cricket, tennis or cycling. It
sends the powerful message to all young aspirants that there is a
science behind enhancing endurance and in making the human
body fighting fit.
The book under review won the Second Prize in the
category Non-Fiction (9-12 years) in the competition for Writers
of Children’s Books, which was organized by the Children’s Book
Trust. As a book on nutritional needs of sportsperson’s the book
scores a bulls-eye. The production values and illustrations are
excellent.
The blurb on the back cover emphasizes that the book
focuses on the results of the tireless effort and tremendous struggle
of sportswomen before they reached the current level of
acceptance that they enjoy as Olympians. However, the gender
perspective is not really explored in any great depth except for
a mention of the attitude of Baron Pierre de Coubertin who felt
that the inclusion of women in the Olympic Games would make
the games “...impractical, uninteresting, un-aesthetic and
incorrect.” Apparently he thought that a woman’s organs were
unsuitable for handling the demands of sports. In his words, “No
matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is
not cut out to sustain certain shocks...” Today of course, women
have proved him wrong many times over.
What would have acted as a foil to the information about
nutrition for the body would have been stories about the mental
strength of sportswomen. No mention is made of the fact that
Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo Jo, page 11) considered the
“...fastest woman of all time...”, was an epileptic. She died of
epilepsy in 1998 at the age of 38. Can one imagine what strength
of mind is required to rise above the constraints that epilepsy
brings?
Nadia Comaneci’s achievements are discussed in some
detail. What would have been an interesting snippet of information
is that her record as the youngest Olympic gymnastics all-round
champion ever; cannot be now legally broken because the
age limit for the gymnasts has been raised. No mention is made
of the strict diet of fruit, milk, cheese and protein (no sugar and
bread) that her coach insisted upon, nor the monotonous
performance of her floor routine that allowed her to execute like
a machine, her perfect moves (once even with a wound on her
hand). There have been reports that female gymnasts often subsist
on 900 calories a day to maintain their so-called “rubber band
bodies”. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, both eating
disorders, are commonly seen in gymnasts. Mention of this would
have opened the eyes of children to the drawbacks of
malnutrition and food fads. A discussion on the way role models,
such as Olga Korbut impressed young girls to join sports would
have been a welcome addition.
The book ends with a pertinent question about why sports
channels do not show programmes on the way technology is
helping sports (better shoes etc.). A question is not a satisfactory
way to end a book that has been written to provide answers for
children. This is why the reviewer gets the feeling that the book
was abruptly truncated, thanks to sharp editorial scissors, once it
reached the prescribed number of words to enter the
competition. It would have added tremendous value to the book
had the author explored all the other interesting aspects
associated with the science of sports. Right now, the reader is left
feeling a little like half-famished Oliver Twist...asking for more
because his hunger is not quite satisfied.
Reviewed by Dr Sukanya Datta, Scientist NISCAIR posted to DG’s Technical
Cell, CSIR HQ. Email: [email protected]
27
SCIENCE REPORTER, DECEMBER 2011