Dr James Morehen

BSc, MSc, PhD, SENr

James is currently working as the Men's Performance Nutritionist at The Rugby Football Union with over 10 years’ experience working with elite athletes from Rugby, Football, Boxing and Motorsport. James also owns his own performance nutrition business Morehen Performance Ltd actively supporting elite athletes and individuals globally, as well as an online community of performance nutritionists The Performance Nutrition Network. In addition, he is an experienced speaker and presented, and co-host of the new GetPRO sports nutrition podcast. 

Education & Qualifications

Dr. James Morehen is a distinguished performance nutritionist with extensive experience in elite sports, academia, and corporate wellness. Dr. Morehen pursued his higher education at Liverpool John Moores University, where he earned:

  • BSC in Sport and Exercise Science
  • MSc in Sports Physiology
  • PhD in Applied Physiology and Sports Nutrition

His doctoral research, titled “Growing, Building & Repairing Elite Rugby Players: Nutritional & Energetic Considerations”, was completed in March 2019 under the supervision of Professors Graeme Close and James Morton.

In his professional career, Dr. Morehen currently works as the Lead Performance Nutritionist for England Rugby, focusing on optimizing players' nutrition to enhance performance and recovery.

His previous roles include performance Nutritionist for England Football, overseeing nutrition for both men's and women's pathways, and lead Nutritionist at the Bristol Bears Rugby Union. Additionally, he has worked with:

  • Professional rugby league teams such as Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings.
  • Athletes in boxing, judo, triathlon, and Formula 1 racing.
  • Corporate clients including HSBC, IKEA, and City Suisse.

Aside from his work at the England Rugby union, Dr. Morehen runs his own performance nutrition busniess, Morehen Performance Ltd, through which he provides tailored nutrition strategies for individual athletes and organizations.

Dr. Morehen is also passionate about professional development and is founder of the Performance Nutrition Network, a mentorship community offering resources, webinars, and peer support for nutrition practitioners. 

Dr. Morehen has authored 22 peer reviewed research publications since 2015. His publications are related to the core disciplines of performance support (i.e., physiology, nutrition, body composition, metabolism) and his PhD.

  • McHaffie, S. J., Langan-Evans, C., Morehen, J. C. et al (2022). Normalising the conversation: a qualitative analysis of player and stakeholder perceptions of menstrual health support within elite female soccer. Science & medicine in football.
  • McHaffie, S. J., Langan-Evans, C., Morehen, J. C. et al. (2022). Carbohydrate fear, skinfold targets and body image issues: a qualitative analysis of player and stakeholder perceptions of the nutrition culture within elite female soccer. Science & medicine in football.                 
  • Morehen, J. C., Rosimus, C et al. (2022). Energy Expenditure of Female International Standard Soccer Players: A Doubly Labeled Water Investigation. Medicine and science in sports and exercise.
  • Morehen, J. C. et al (2021). A 5-Year Analysis of Weight Cycling Practices in a Male World Champion Professional Boxer: Potential Implications for Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism.
  • Morehen, J. C. et al. (2021). Montmorency tart cherry juice does not reduce markers of muscle soreness, function and inflammation following professional male rugby League match-play. European journal of sport science.
  • Morehen, J. C. et al. (2020). Development of anthropometric characteristics in professional Rugby League players: Is there too much emphasis on the pre-season period?. European journal of sport science
  • Bradley, W. J., Hannon, M. P., Benford, V., Morehen, J. C. et al. (2017). Metabolic demands and replenishment of muscle glycogen after a rugby league match simulation protocol. Journal of science and medicine in sport.     
  • Morehen, J. C. et al. (2016). The Assessment of Total Energy Expenditure During a 14-Day In-Season Period of Professional Rugby League Players Using the Doubly Labelled Water Method. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism.    
  • Bradley, W. J., Morehen, J. C. et al (2016). Muscle glycogen utilisation during Rugby match play: Effects of pre-game carbohydrate. Journal of science and medicine in sport.                                                            
  • Morehen, J. C. et al. (2015). Position specific differences in the anthropometric characteristics of elite European Super League rugby players. European journal of sport science.

Contact information

LinkedIn: Dr James Morehen | LinkedIn

Instagram: @morehenperformance

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This information is intended for Health and/or Nutrition Professionals working within the field of sport and performance nutrition, including sports nutritionists, dietitians, sports scientists, coaches, athletic trainers and others who have professional training in nutrition and human physiology.

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