Whether you exercise for fun, or in competitive situations, you should understand the important role nutrition plays in fitness. This useful new text focuses on nutrition as it specifically relates to female at hletes. It addresses topics of major importance to women in sports, co aches, trainers, sports nutritionists, and physicians. Each chapter is a "mini-course" on a particular aspect of nutrition. Subjects include the nutritional practices of female athletes; the requirements for ca rbohydrates, proteins, and fats; details on vitamins and minerals, wit h special emphasis on the nutrients of importance to female athletes; the role of water and electrolytes, including prevention of dehydratio n and guidelines for optimal fluid replacement; body weight and compos ition; factors affecting energy balance; how to achieve a healthy comp etitive weight, and an overview of eating disorders in athletes, inclu ding definitions and diagnostic criteria, prevalence, risk factors, an d effects on health and performance.