Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Summary
Sport and exercise nutrition addresses the interplay between dietary intake and physical performance, recovery and long-term health. Athletes and active individuals rely on strategic manipulation of energy availability through balanced proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to fuel exercise, support training adaptations and safeguard muscle mass. Carbohydrate remains the predominant fuel for moderate to high-intensity efforts, with muscle and liver glycogen levels dictating endurance capacity. Adequate protein intake, timed around exercise and spread evenly across meals, stimulates muscle protein synthesis and mitigates lean mass loss during weight-management phases. Healthy fats contribute to cell membrane structure, hormone synthesis and inflammatory regulation. Hydration and electrolyte replacement preserve thermoregulation and cognitive function, while micronutrient sufficiency underpins cellular processes. Contemporary approaches tailor macronutrient amounts and timing to the demands of specific sports, training phases and individual preferences, emphasising the value of whole-food sources and judicious supplement use. Plant-based dietary patterns are also emerging as effective means to enhance antioxidant defences without compromising performance. Overall, nutritional frameworks aim to optimise on-field outputs, reduce injury risk and encourage sustainable practices across diverse athletic populations.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent work has quantified the impact of dietary patterns on oxidative stress markers in endurance athletes. Using a plant-based diet index to assess habitual intake, trained footballers exhibited significantly lower urinary levels of lipid-peroxidation biomarkers, indicating enhanced endogenous antioxidant capacity associated with higher consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. In parallel, large observational data from recreational runners across 10 km to ultra-marathon distances revealed that half-marathon participants scored marginally higher on composite health domains—body composition, mental well-being and chronic inflammation—than both shorter and longer distance runners, underscoring the broad health benefits of regular endurance exercise and the absence of distance-related health penalties.
Sport and Exercise Nutrition publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sport and exercise nutrition across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Glycogen: Polymer of glucose stored in liver and muscle, serving as a key fuel during moderate to high-intensity exercise.
Oxidative stress: Cellular condition in which reactive oxygen species overwhelm antioxidant defences, potentially impairing recovery and performance.
Plant-based diet index (PDI): Quantitative measure of dietary adherence to plant-derived foods, used to assess relationships with health biomarkers.
Food-first approach: Nutritional strategy prioritising whole-food sources over supplements to meet energy and macronutrient requirements.
Macronutrient: Dietary component—carbohydrate, protein or fat—required in large amounts to support energy needs, tissue maintenance and metabolic function.
References
- Effect of a plant-based diet on oxidative stress biomarkers in male footballers. Scientific Reports (2024).
- Health status of recreational runners over 10-km up to ultra-marathon distance based on data of the NURMI Study Step 2. Scientific Reports (2022).
- Carbohydrates and Endurance Exercise: A Narrative Review of a Food First Approach. Nutrients (2023).
- Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete. Advances in Nutrition (2023).
- Athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of nutritional requirements. Frontiers in Nutrition (2024).
About these summaries
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