1. Sports Drinks and EXERCISE

2. Dehydration During Exercise
Research has shown that a loss of body water due to exercise can have adverse effects on the body.
Dehydration resulting in a loss of 1% to 2% of body weight is sufficient to impair exercise performance. (Powers, 2015)
Dehydration of greater than 3% of body weight further impairs physiological function and increases the risk of heat injury. (Powers, 2015)
Sports drinks have proved to be an effective way to rehydrate the fluid that is lost and to avoid the negative physiological effects.

3. Recommended Fluid Intake
Adults should adhere to a certain level of hydration each day. Sedentary men and women should consume on average 3.0 L (13 cups) and 2.2 L of water (9 cups) per day. (Clark, 2014)
Athletes need to consume even more fluid than that. Athletes should consume 150 to 300 ml of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise. (Powers, 2015)
For proper rehydration following exercise, athletes should consume fluids equal to approximately 150% of the weight lost (Powers, 2015)
A common question that is asked is whether the fluid that is being consumed before, during and after exercise should be water or a type of sports drink?

4. Sports Drinks Vs. Water
The sports drink was created to help athletes by providing carbohydrates and electrolytes that water can not.
The National Athletic Trainers Association concluded that well-designed sports drinks are superior to water for rehydration following exercise.
Image retrieved from: UPMC Sports Medicine (2014, June 30). Sports Drink vs. Water. Retrieved May 05, 2016, from

5. History of Sports Drinks
The creation of sports drinks date all the way back to very early 20th century in Europe.
Although, most associate the first sports drink back to the summer of 1965 when Gatorade was created.
In early summer of 1965, a University of Florida assistant coach sat down with a team of university physicians and asked them to determine why so many of his players were being affected by heat and heat related illnesses. (Heritage, 2016)
The result was a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage that helped replenish athletes during exercise.

6. Effects of Sports Drinks
Carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drinks are formulated to include carbohydrate as an energy source to supplement liver and muscle glycogen stores fluids to counteract the debilitating effects of dehydration and hyperthermia and electrolytes, mainly sodium, to replace losses via sweating and to promote intestinal glucose and water uptake. (Lee, 2011)

7. When to Use Sports Drinks
An athlete who is performing a workout or in an athlete event should be well- hydrated before, during and after the event.
Sports drinks are most highly recommended during and after an event as the most effective way to rehydrate an athlete. Sports drinks should also be consumed when training in hot and humid environments.
The opinion above from the National Athletic Trainers Association is based on the belief that sports drinks increase voluntary intake by athletes and allow for more effective rehydration. (Powers, 2015)

8. Conclusion
Athletes who do not replace fluids that are lost during exercise or an athletic event can suffer from heat injuries and poor athletic performance.
An athlete should consume 150 to 300 ml of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise and fluids equal to 150% of the weight lost.
Consuming sports drinks during and after an event is the recommended fluid to rehydrate an athlete.

9. References
Clark, M., Sutton, B., & Lucett, S. (Eds.). (2014). NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training (4th ed. rev.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Gatorade Hertiage. Retrieved May 05, 2016, from
Lee, Jason K. W., Amanda Q. X. Nio, Wee Hon Ang, Lydia Y. L. Law, and Chin Leong Lim "Effects of ingesting a sports drink during exercise and recovery on subsequent endurance capacity." European Journal Of Sport Science 11, no. 2: SPORTDiscus with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed May 3, 2016).
Powers, S. K., & Howley, E. T. (2015). Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance (9th ed.). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill.