Peer-reviewed article
Dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and behavior in youth team sport athletes: a scoping review and call to advance research and practice.
Neil Irwin, Ciarán Ó Catháin, Cormac Ward, David Kelly ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This scoping review examined 57 studies on dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and eating behaviors in youth team sport athletes aged 12-19 years. The review found that young athletes commonly report inadequate energy and carbohydrate intake, with frequent micronutrient shortfalls, though measurement reliability is limited by methodological problems. Nutrition knowledge was generally poor, especially about sport-specific topics, and education alone rarely changed eating behaviors without integrated behavior change strategies. The review identifies major gaps in research quality, particularly the underrepresentation of female athletes and inconsistencies in how dietary intake is measured.
Key points
- Energy and carbohydrate intake were frequently reported below recommended levels, though doubly labeled water studies suggest reported deficits may be overestimated due to underreporting
- Micronutrient intake often fell short, particularly for vitamins A, D, and E, calcium and iron, while protein and fat intake generally met recommendations
- Nutrition knowledge was limited, particularly for sport-specific topics, and no validated questionnaires exist for adolescent populations
- Education-only interventions rarely produced dietary behavior change, whereas those incorporating behavior change components showed improvements
- Parents, coaches and peers acted as both enablers and barriers to dietary adherence, and environmental constraints compromised dietary quality
Limitations
This is a scoping review that maps the literature rather than conducting meta-analysis, so it cannot quantify overall effect sizes or provide definitive conclusions about intervention effectiveness. The review itself documents that the primary studies have major methodological inconsistencies including wide variation in dietary assessment methods, limited adjustment for misreporting, and substantial underrepresentation of female athletes, which limits what conclusions can be drawn about youth athlete nutrition.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Youth team sport athletes face unique nutritional challenges due to the combined demands of growth, development and exercise. This scoping review systematically mapped the literature on dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, education interventions and factors influencing dietary behaviors in male and female team sport athletes aged 12-19 years. The review aimed to identify knowledge gaps, highlight methodological limitations and inform recommendations for advancing both research and practice in this population. METHODS: The review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines and was pre-registered on the Open Science Framework. Eligible studies examined dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, education interventions and factors influencing dietary behavior in youth team sport athletes. Searches were conducted across PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus and gray literature sources. Study selection and data charting were conducted by the lead reviewer, with independent verification by a second reviewer. Findings were synthesized using descriptive analysis and thematic synthesis across these four domains. RESULTS: Fifty-seven studies involving 4,369 youth team sport athletes were included. Cross-sectional designs predominated (59.6%) and the evidence base was characterized by significant methodological inconsistencies, including wide variation in dietary assessment methods, limited adjustment for misreporting and substantial underrepresentation of female athletes who accounted for 26.9% of the total sample. Energy and carbohydrate intake were frequently reported below recommended levels, most evident during periods of intensive training and competition. However, findings from studies using doubly labeled water suggest that the magnitude of reported deficits may be overestimated due to dietary underreporting and imprecise estimation of energy expenditure. Protein and fat intake generally met recommendations although micronutrient intake often fell short, particularly for vitamins A, D, and E, calcium and iron. Nutrition knowledge was limited, particularly for sport-specific topics and none of the questionnaires used were validated for adolescent populations. Twelve education interventions were identified; education-only approaches rarely produced changes in dietary behavior, whereas interventions incorporating behavior change components tended to report improvements. Only five studies examined factors influencing dietary behavior, finding that parents, coaches and peers acted as both enablers and barriers to dietary adherence, and that environmental constraints compromised dietary quality. CONCLUSIONS: Youth team sport athletes commonly exhibit inadequate reported energy and carbohydrate intake alongside frequent micronutrient shortfalls, although the reliability of these estimates is limited by methodological constraints. Nutrition knowledge is generally poor, particularly in sport-specific areas. Dietary behaviors are shaped by individual, social and environmental influences that extend beyond knowledge alone and education interventions rarely produce sustained dietary change without the integration of behavior change strategies. Future research should prioritize more rigorous and consistent methodological approaches, improved representation of female athletes and the development of youth-specific validated assessment tools. Given the scope and persistence of the methodological inconsistencies identified, the development of an expert-led consensus statement on standards for dietary assessment, nutrition knowledge measurement, intervention design and participant characterization may help advance the quality and comparability of future research in this population.