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Engagement and impact in Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism
Our research is defined by its real-world reach. We operate at the intersection of science and practice, working in close partnership with elite sporting organisations, governing bodies, the Ministry of Defence and industry leaders to ensure our findings translate directly into applied settings.
Through these collaborations, we have shaped the fuelling, recovery and weight making strategies of world-class performers and influenced the policies and guidelines that govern nutrition practice in high-performance sport and beyond.
We are committed to research that not only advances scientific understanding, but drives meaningful, equitable change across the sporting landscape.
The APNM group plays a leading role in shaping international sport and exercise nutrition practice, contributing to high-impact consensus statements and expert guidelines that inform athlete health, performance, and policy across organisations.
Through integrating cutting-edge science with real-world application, our work directly influences how practitioners support athletes, while also guiding future research priorities in elite sport.
Dr. Daniel Owens
APNM group lead, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science
Past and present members have collectively been a core part of winning performance teams:
Four Formula 1 Grand Prix wins
Tour de France (Cycling)
Giro d’Italia (Cycling)
Challenge Cup win (Rugby League)
Superleague Trophy (Rugby League)
Gallagher Premiership Trophy (Rugby Union)
United Rugby Championship Trophy (Rugby Union)
European Rugby Champions Cup Trophy (Rugby Union)
Six Nations Championship Trophy (Rugby Union)
Several male and female boxing titles (WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO)
Queen’s club championship trophy, Silver Gilt Cup (Tennis)
Venus Rosewater Dish (Tennis)
UEFA Champions League Win (Soccer)
UEFA Europa League Win (Soccer)
UEFA Super Cup Win (Soccer)
FIFA Club World Cup Win (Soccer)
County Cricket Championship Trophy (Cricket)
Vitality Blast Trophy (Cricket)
The Hundred Trophy (Cricket)
One-Day Cup Trophy (Cricket)
The Ashes (vs Australia) (Cricket)
Cheltenham Gold Cup (Jump racing)
The Grand National (Horse Racing)
Epsom Derby (Flat racing)
Ascot Gold Cup (Horse Racing)
England Hockey League Championship Trophy (Hockey)
Expert statements and guidelines
UCI Sports Nutrition Project: Nutritional Periodization: Strategies to Enhance Training Adaptation and Recovery
Contribution by Prof. James Morton and Dr. Daniel Owens
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) - whose Medical Director (Dr Xavier Bigard) engaged with leading experts in the field (Professor Louise Burke and Dr Jamie Whitfield) and assembled an expert steering committee to generate nutritional guidelines in relation to various aspects of cycling. Dr. Daniel Owens and Professor James Morton contributed to the section titled “Nutritional Periodization: Strategies to Enhance Training Adaptation and Recovery".
International Olympic Committee consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete
Contribution by Prof. Neil Walsh
This consensus statement provides evidence-based guidance for athletes and practitioners on the appropriate use of dietary supplements, emphasising that while some supplements may offer small, context-specific performance or training benefits, their use should be carefully evaluated against potential risks to health, performance, and anti-doping compliance, and always grounded in a thorough nutritional assessment and professional oversight.
Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations
Contribution by Prof. Neil Walsh
This consensus statement provides evidence-informed guidance on sleep in elite athletes, highlighting that sleep inadequacy is common and can negatively impact performance, recovery, and health, while recognising that current research is limited by methodological issues and underrepresentation of key groups.
It emphasises the importance of identifying sport-specific and individual risk factors (such as training demands, travel, stress, and sex differences), and advocates for individualised, context-specific strategies, supported by practical tools (eg, education and screening), to optimise sleep, rather than relying on generic recommendations, while also identifying key areas for future research.
ACSM Expert Consensus Statement on Weight Loss in Weight-Category Sports
Contributions by Dr. Carl Langan-Evans
This American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) consensus statement provides evidence-based guidance on body mass management in weight-category sports, highlighting that while athletes often attempt to “make weight” through chronic fat loss and acute rapid weight-cutting strategies, these practices can pose risks to health and performance.
It emphasises the need for safer, regulated approaches—such as appropriate weight classification, limiting rapid weight loss, and reducing the time between weigh-in and competition—while advocating for individualised, long-term strategies guided by qualified professionals to balance competitive goals with athlete wellbeing.
UEFA expert group statement on nutrition in elite football. Current evidence to inform practical recommendations and guide future research
Contributions by Profs. James Morton and Graeme Close
This UEFA expert statement provides evidence-based, practically applied guidance on nutrition for elite football, emphasising a food-first approach to support performance, recovery, and long-term health across the season.
It integrates current scientific knowledge with real-world practice across key areas such as match and training nutrition, body composition, travel, rehabilitation, and cultural considerations, while recognising the evolving demands of the game and the need for context-specific, feasible strategies. The statement also aims to inform practitioner decision-making and guide future research priorities within elite football nutrition.
UCI Sports Nutrition Project: Body Composition, Energy
Requirements, and Energy Availability in Cycling
Contributions by Dr. José Areta
This The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) sport nutrition project provides evidence-informed guidance on energy availability in cyclists, highlighting the challenge of balancing the high energy demands of training and competition with the pressure to maintain a low body mass for performance. It emphasises that this tension places many cyclists at risk of chronic low energy availability, which can negatively impact health, performance, and long-term wellbeing. The paper integrates current evidence on energy intake, expenditure, and body composition with athlete perceptions, while acknowledging practical and methodological limitations, and offers pragmatic, athlete-centred recommendations to help cyclists achieve performance goals without compromising health.
UK Government Defence and Armed Forces: Management of health and safety in defence - chapter 41: heat illness prevention
Contributions by Prof. Neil Walsh
This 5-year Ministry of Defence-funded research programme investigates the risk factors for exertional heat illness and the influence of early life adversity on health and performance.
Heat illness remains a major operational and safety concern within military training and can be fatal in severe cases.
The research identified, for the first time, that exercising while experiencing symptoms of a respiratory infection increases the risk of severe heat illness by approximately four-fold.
These findings informed updates to UK Defence policy and underpin a new "no-fault opt-out" policy that enables military recruits to withdraw from training when unwell without penalty. The programme continues to generate evidence that supports the health, safety, and operational effectiveness of military personnel.
Books
Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism by Morton and MacLaren
Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism initially examines the essence of the biochemistry of the macronutrients before exploring how exercise mode, intensity, and duration, training status, and nutritional status affects the regulation of energy producing pathways, enabling readers to apply this understanding to develop training and nutrition programs that maximize athletic performance.
This textbook includes an overview of energy metabolism, skeletal muscle structure and function and related biochemical concepts, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, metabolism, regulation of metabolism, and factors that can influence metabolism, and fatigue.
Molecular Exercise Physiology: An Introduction (2nd Edition)
Edited By Adam Sharples, Henning Wackerhage, James Morton, Henning Wackerhage
The second edition of Molecular Exercise Physiology offers a student-friendly introduction. It introduces a history documenting the emergence of molecular biology techniques to investigate exercise physiology, the methodology used, exercise genetics and epigenetics. It also analyses the molecular mechanisms that lead to adaptation after different types of exercise, with explicit links to outcomes in sport performance, nutrition, physical activity and clinical exercise.
Contribution to Chapter 2 - Methods in molecular exercise physiology by Dr. Daniel Owens
Vitamin D in sport: Hype, evidence, and practical guidance
Prof. Graeme Close and Dr. Daniel Owens
Vitamin D has become one of the most talked-about nutrients in sport.
Yet, confusion and controversy remain. MySportScience Academy hosted two world-leading experts, Prof. Graeme Close and Dr. Daniel Owens of Liverpool John Moores University to unpack the latest science, clarify the evidence, and translate it into clear, practical strategies for your athletes.
You’ll learn what the evidence really says, how to assess vitamin D status without falling into common traps, and how to manage it safely in practice.
In this webinar, three world renowned speakers including Prof. James Morton of Liverpool John Moores University, translate science into nutrition practice in football.
How do we turn the theoretical science into practical recommendations for footballers?
On 20th January 2022, Daniel Owens (Liverpool John Moores University), Henning Wackerhage (Technische Universität München) and Juha Hulmi (Jyväskylä University) organised the First European Exercise Metabolomics Mini Meeting.
This was a free to attend event that aimed to bring exercise scientists and metabolomics enthusiasts together, to create a stronger future for the exercise metabolomics field.
In this first edition, an excellent line up of speakers provided a background on metabolomics and current research insights in the field of exercise metabolomics.
Dr Juha Hulmi (University of Jyväskylä, Finland):"Effects of low carbohydrate availability in physique competitors and in vitro "exercise" on the metabolome"
Prof. Henning Wackerhage (Technische Universität München, Germany): "Exercise metabolomics and the analysis of physiological extremes of human metabolism"
'Marathon Medicine’ Is low energy availability a concern for runners' health and performance?
Dr José Areta
With the rise of the IOC’s 'Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport Syndrome' (REDs) model, concerns about energy deficit’s impact on performance and health have grown. However, this relationship is complex. Epidemiological data link energy deficiency in runners to poor bone density, stress fractures, and potential performance impairments, though causality remains unclear.
Humans, uniquely adapted for endurance running, may have evolved to sustain locomotion even during food scarcity. Evidence suggests some elite runners experience energy deficits before major events. Our research indicates that skeletal muscle adapts to energy deficit and exercise by upregulating mitochondrial proteins, potentially acting as an independent stressor to drive adaptation.
This talk explores the intricate effects of energy deficit on runner health and performance, shedding light on both risks and possible adaptive benefits.
Low Energy Availability: Training Adaptation and Performance
Dr. Carl Larngan-Evans and Dr José Areta
This webinar showcased the latest research by Dr Jose Areta Karsten Koehler and Dr Carl Langan-Evans in relation to low energy availability, training adaptation and performance.
Talks:
Dr Karsten Köhler: Can increased dietary protein rescue the endocrine response in the low energy availability state?
Dr José L Areta: How does low energy availability affect exercise capacity and training adaptation in endurance athletes?
Dr Carl Langan-Evans: Effect of low energy availability on psychophysiological parameters and physical performance in combat sports athletes.
Everything you need to know about matchday preparation for peak performance. Hear from Lucy Bronze, Sandra Paños, Jonatan Giráldez and Gatorade who talk through key matchday -1 activations, individual preferences, personal rituals and the impact this has on performance.
Plus, Gatorade Sports Scientist and APNM member Dr Sam Moss explains how nutrition, hydration, sleep and mental preparation on matchday -1 can affect performance.
Gatorade Sport Science Institute – Ask the Expert: Sport Nutrition Recommendations for Elite Female Soccer Players
Dr. Sam Moss
In this webinar Dr Sam Moss gives an overview of sport nutrition recommendations for the elite female athlete in collaboration with Gatorade Sport Science Institute.
Blog posts or articles
The Conversation: Could exercising while losing weight preserve your muscles and help keep them ‘young’?
Energy Stress Meeting in Association with Society for Endocrinology
On September 15th 2022, Liverpool John Moores University hosted the ‘Energy Stress Meeting’, in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
The meeting organisation was led by Dr. José L Areta with support from Society for Endocrinology (main sponsor) and The Physiological Society and the meeting organising committee.
The meeting hosted a group of world experts who presented their views and current research on a number of topics related to energy deficit and exercise.
This event was 2 days of expert-led sessions bringing together rehab professionals, S&C coaches and clinicians to explore the intersection of rehabilitation and performance. A deep dive into objective measurement from industry leaders focusing on how to turn data into impact.
This two-day summit explored the modern landscape of objective measurement across health and performance — with a specific focus on one of the most important questions in the process: “How do you ensure you're having impact from the data you collect?”
The event brought together leading academics, practitioners and athletes to explore cutting-edge research and applied practice across combat sports, with sessions spanning physiology, nutrition, psychology, strength and conditioning, and sports medicine.
Explore the Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism research group
