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Review
. 2021 May 22;13(6):1772.
doi: 10.3390/nu13061772.

Nutrition Knowledge of Collegiate Athletes in the United States and the Impact of Sports Dietitians on Related Outcomes: A Narrative Review

Aaron J Riviere  1 , Rae Leach  2 , Haleigh Mann  2 , Samuel Robinson  3 , Donna O Burnett  2 , Jeganathan R Babu  2 , Andrew Dandridge Frugé  2
Affiliations
Review

Nutrition Knowledge of Collegiate Athletes in the United States and the Impact of Sports Dietitians on Related Outcomes: A Narrative Review

Aaron J Riviere et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

In the last decade, the number of full-time registered dietitians (RDs) serving intercollegiate athletes in the United States has more than quadrupled. However, many student athletes may be at increased risk of nutrition-related problems that impact physical and academic performance, which include inadequate macronutrients, inadequate micronutrients, and excessive macronutrients. This narrative review reports the current literature to date on nutrition-related knowledge in collegiate athletes and the impact of sports RDs on student athletes' nutrition knowledge and behaviors. To date, only observational and quasi-experimental studies have been published with regard to changes in nutrition knowledge and behaviors in NCAA athletes. While these studies report benefits of the RD as a member of the interdisciplinary student athlete support team, more well-designed randomized control trials are warranted to determine benefits related to health outcomes and sport-specific performance outcomes.

Keywords: college athletics; sports dietitian; sports nutrition; student athlete.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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