Sports Nutrition and Athletes’ Health

Dear Colleagues, 

The majority of the time, sports nutrition concepts are targeted to athletes; however, the concept itself can often be applied by all that are active, especially those working or being active under extreme circumstances, such as tactical athletes and occupational professions. Hence, the adequate intake of energy and nutrients is of great importance for a wide range of active populations, to ensure optimal performance, adaptation, and recovery. In order to minimize health risks, people need to meet nutrition demands; as such, specific sports nutrition recommendations have been formulated. However, the recommended habitual dietary intake can be difficult to reach as part of the athlete’s available energy budget. A large variation is observed in dietary intake by athletes. An obvious reason for this is that sports differ regarding their nutritional demands, in particular, when it comes to macronutrients and total energy intake. Additionally, some sport disciplines make it difficult for, or do not allow, the athlete to always consume the right quantity and type of foods at the appropriate time. For example, during competition, this could be due to the intensity of exercise, or because of the rules applicable to the field of sport. Planning dietary intake before, during, and after exercise can be quite demanding. In addition, physiological limitations, such as gastrointestinal (GI) distress, can interfere with the recommended dietary intake related to exercise. As a result of having a strong winners’ mentality and personality, some may be tempted to follow certain food hypes or take products that promise benefits. Commercial pressure may also play a role. Suppliers consider top athletes an interesting target group to promote the sales of their products, and they sometimes sponsor teams or individual athletes. In summary, sports nutrition presents specific challenges for the athletes, but also health professionals, such as sports dietitians, athletic trainers, strength coaches, and coaches. It is, therefore, also understandable that several athletes experience difficulties in meeting the recommendations or their personal dietary goals. 

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of knowledge on the links between Sports Nutrition and Athletes' Health. New research papers, reviews, and case reports are welcome to this issue. Other manuscript types accepted include methodological papers, position papers, and brief reports. 

Examples of the topics that may be considered for publication are:

1. Sports nutrition interventions that improve markers of health and performance, including whole diet interventions or specific isolated sports nutrition supplements.
2. Dietary exposure assessment in athletic populations; in particular, studies that combine dietary intake with biomarkers reporting nutrient status are welcomed.
3. Normative dietary intake data for specific sports or athletic populations, including articles that assess regional or geographical differences that influence dietary preferences, concerning international sports nutrition recommendations.
4. Validation studies for dietary intake assessment methods in athletic populations, including the validation of existing methods translated into a different language, such as food frequency questionnaires.
5. Studies assessing athlete perception, attitudes, and knowledge towards sports nutrition and dietary supplements, including the athlete’s compliance with guidelines, recommendations, and nutrition counseling.
6. Studies assessing the interdisciplinary interaction between health professionals working in sports within the field of sports nutrition.

Dr. Floris Wardenaar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• exercise
• activity
• performance
• diet
• supplement
• biomarker
• assessment
• sports foods
• normative data
• validation