Effects of nutrition education programs designed to improve dietary intake and nutrition knowledge in female athletes: a systematic review

Proper nutrition enhances athletes’ performance and recovery during sports activities. This review aims to investigate the effects of nutrition education interventions on dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and body composition of female athletes. From a comprehensive search, we identified 20 single-arm and 8 double arm studies that met the inclusion criteria. The interventions in these studies ranged from personalized consultations to group workshops. The mode of delivery was mainly face-to-face. Most of these interventions consisted of group sessions with variable duration and frequency. From the studies finally included, nutrition education intervention significantly increased the nutrition knowledge of female athletes in 76% and improved their dietary intake in 67%. However, only 44% of the studies that measured changes in body composition reported significant changes. Moreover, only a minority of studies (14%) maintained follow-up assessments to measure the lasting impact of the interventions. Sixty percent of interventions were delivered by professional nutritionists or dietitians, ensuring high-quality education. There is a need for standardized methodologies and more robust study designs to better assess the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions. Knowing athletes’ preferences when planning education may improve engagement and intervention efficacy. Also, longer-term follow-up of athletes would allow for a more accurate evaluation of the consolidation of acquired knowledge. Including coaches in nutrition education interventions would probably amplify the impact on athletes’ dietary behaviours. Nutrition education can positively influence the knowledge and eating habits of female athletes, but its effect on body composition represents an area where much remains to be explored.