Learning Activity Instructions

Title: What to drink?

Objective: To determine which popular sports drinks meet hydration guidelines.

Instructions: What happens when you forget to water a house plant? If you have ever seen a Peace Lily after a dry spell, you know. A lack of water causes a plant loses its rigidity. This creates a visual of what happens to cells without proper hydration. Even though a living creature will not droop like a plant, it will "wilt" when it comes to exercise output. Even a small decrease in bodily fluid can have an impact on physical performance.

Various aspects of hydration have been studied through the years, and as a result guidelines on this topic have been developed. For this Learning Activity, describe, from  current literature, strategies supporting adequate fluid intake during sports activities. Then, use this information to evaluate the effectiveness of various beverages for hydration purposes.

In this Learning Activity, your goal is to determine which popular sports drinks meet hydration guidelines. Issues to include in your evaluation include:

• Strategies and guidelines for hydration.
• Optimal composition of beverages.
• Comparison of effectiveness of common beverages on hydration, such as water, juice, soda, sports drinks, energy drinks.
• Optimal composition of various sports drinks on the market today.
• The required length of this Learning Activity is 500-600 words, and should include a minimum of 2 sources. Formatting should be consistent with the AMA style guide. This Learning Activity is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 5.