Relevant aspects of hydration in sports and physical activity

Abstract

During physical exercise, the responsible for the heat production regardless of external factors, the body works to maintain body temperature close to 37°C. To make this possible, the sweat evaporation mechanism is the primary way that body tries to maintain its homeostasis. The magnitude of fluid loss during exercise depends on diverse factors such as biological individuality, physical activity characteristics and environmental conditions. Therefore, fluid replacement is essential to sustain the performance and especially to ensure the satisfactory function of the cardiovascular system. In this context, the beverage selection to be consumed during exercise, aiming to recover the lost body fluids should meet some specific features to promote proper metabolic and electrolytic recovery. For different moments of exercise (before, during and after the physical activity), different protocols are recommended. Besides water and sport drinks, the use of other products such as glycerol, low-fat milk beverages, energy drinks and beer has also been studied in athletes’ and physically active people’s hydration. For an adequate fluid replacement, beyond the selection of drink, it is necessary to assess the level of dehydration, whose techniques can vary in relation to cost, portability, execution time and accuracy level. Given the above, the objective of this manuscript is, through a brief review, to bring to professionals directly and indirectly involved with the prescription of exercise for different populations, physiological knowledge involving the dehydration process in the exercise, as well to provide information about the different types of drinks for hydration, hydration status evaluation methods and before, during and after exercise hydration protocols.