Mayer on Athletes

Dr. Jean Mayer, professor of Nutrition at Harvard's School of Public Health, said last night athletes have no special nutritional requirements apart from a good, well-balanced diet.

In the second part of a three-part series sponsored by Dudley House on personal physical fitness, Mayer suggested that athletes in endurance events may benefit from a high carbohydrate diet, but that "this is the only exception as far as general nutrition is concerned."

Addressing a crowd of about 120 on the nutrition of physical fitness, Mayer, a former nutritionist for the U.S. Olympid team, said there is no increase in protein requirement due to exercise. "A high-protein, high-cholosterol diet, such as steak and eggs," he said, "is exactly the sort of diet young men should not be on."