In good shape: Vietnamese athletes pose with national sport officials and Herbalife Viet Nam representatives after a nutrition support agreement signed recently in Ha Noi.

(VNS) — Herbalife Viet Nam has signed an agreement with the Vietnam Olympic Committee to supply nutritional support at the 2013 SEA Games in December in Myanmar. Herbalife will provide nutritional products and consultation for 800 athletes who will be competing in 29 sports at the Games.

Dr. Lam Quang Thanh, Vice President of Viet Nam Olympic Committee, and Mr. William Rahn, Senior Vice President, Managing Director of the Asia Pacific region for Herbalife Ltd., spoke about how the support programme would be implemented.

Dr. Lam Quang Thanh – Vice President of the Vietnam Olympic Committee

Why has Herbalife been chosen to partner the national team at the 2013 SEA Games?

Good nutrition is vital to ensuring physical and spiritual strength. In the past, we haven't paid enough attention to this and our athletes' performance have suffered as a consequence.

Realising this, the Viet Nam Olympic Committee is working with Herbalife to offer athletes specific and scientific dietary plans. Herbalife, which is known for its expertise in this field, will help those athletes to fulfil their full potential at the Games. Last year, the company supported Viet Nam at the London Olympics, and our athletes responded positively. Herbalife sponsors world-class athletes, teams and events around the globe, and the company also supports local athletes such as Pham Phuoc Hung (gymnastics), Hoang Xuan Vinh (shooting), Tran Le Quoc Toan (weightlifting), and their performances have improved since they started taking Herbalife shakes.

What policies do we have in place to look after our athletes?

Improving the strength of Vietnamese athletics has always been our priority. With support from Herbalife, our athletes will receive the correct nutrition and training for their respective sports. Professor Marco De Angelis, a member of the Herbalife Nutrition Advisory Board who has consulted with Olympic athletes, Olympic Commitees and sports federations in Italy, China, and Russia, will conduct sports nutrition training sessions for participating athletes to prepare them for the Games. The assistance of Professor De Angelis is expected to reinforce and enhance the physical strength of Viet Nam's athletes, helping them to achieve more at international competitions.

Mr William Rahn - Senior Vice President and Managing director, Herbalife Asia Pacific

What support will you offer Vietnamese athletes at the 2013 SEA Games?

Mr William Rahn

We will mainly focus on providing proper sports nutrition for the athletes during their training and competition, rather than offering financial support. We want to help Viet Nam to finish in the top three countries on the medals tally at the SEA Games this year. According to the agreement signed with the Viet Nam Olympic Committee, Herbalife will provide nutrition to about 800 Vietnamese athletes. This clearly illustrates Herbalife's commitment to expanding our nutrition support to Vietnamese athletics by enhancing sports nutrition.

What do your nutritional experts offer to improve the nutritional status and performance of the Vietnamese team?

Professor Marco De Angelis will work with coaches to develop a customised nutritional regime for each individual sport and athlete according to his or her weight category.

This program focuses not only on product but also on changing the lifestyle of athletes to ensure their health and optimum performance.

Can you tell us about other teams and individuals you have worked successfully with in the past?

We believe that good nutrition in sports is an essential factor that enables athletes to reach their highest performance level. We have supported many top-notch athletes and teams all over the world and now we are proud to partner Viet Nam's Olympic Committee to develop talented athletes and provide them with the right nutritional support.

We currently support LA Galaxy, FC Pumas in Mexico, Spartak Moscow in Russia, Botafogo in Brazil, the Belgium national football team, Barcelona, the Korean Taekwondo Team, the Italian Swimming Federation as well as many stars in various sports, including Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and superstar footballer Christiano Ronaldo.

How have the Vietnamese athletes been helped so far?

During the programme, Herbalife products will be introduced to the athletes' diets. Herbalife drinks and shakes help to increase the physical strength and recovery time of athletes, and they taste good! Many international athletes have achieved great things through a combination of intensive training and nutritious diets provided by Herbalife. Take Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal as an example. She went from being ranked 27th in the world to winning the bronze medal at the London Olympics last year, and now she's one of the top athletes in the world.

As I mentioned before, we have one of the - leading nutrition and sports experts, Doctor Marco De Angelis, and he will be there to advise athletes from now until the Games begin in Myanmar at the end of the year. He will fill the gap that has been missing in the dietary side to Vietnam sports.

Herbalife