In-Group Nutrition Interventions with Elite Weight-Sensitive Athletes Are Associated with an Increase in Nutrition Knowledge and Intake of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods, but Not a 400+ Increase in Daily Caloric Intake

/Objectives: Background: Nutrition knowledge is positively associated with energy intake in athletes, and therefore, improving nutrition knowledge may offer a cost-effective approach to prevent negative performance and health outcomes associated with low energy availability (LEA) described in the Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (REDs) syndrome model. The aim was to assess the short-term influence of a 60-min group-based nutrition education intervention on sports nutrition knowledge and dietary intake in elite athletes. Method: Twenty-five elite Canadian athletes were enrolled into a 3-week prospective single blinded randomized pragmatic trial. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 group-based nutrition education interventions. Education content was similar between both groups with 1 group assigned an additional 5-10 mins to review athlete testimonials on the negative impacts of REDs. Participants were assessed, before and about 10 days after the intervention, using anthropometry, Platform to Evaluate Athlete Knowledge of Sports Nutrition, Athlete Food Choice, Eating Disorder Examination 6.0, LEA/Triad, Athlete Diet Index questionnaires, and consecutive 5-day food record. Results: The education intervention that was supplemented with athlete testimonials performed similarly to the intervention without (p>0.05). Overall, nutrition knowledge (score from 69.8, to 72.8) and the intake of carbohydrate-rich foods (12.4 to 14.3) increased while disordered eating/eating symptoms decreased (0.788 to 0.642) after the education intervention (all p<0.05). No changes in daily energy and carbohydrate intake were observed after the education intervention (p>0.05). Conclusion: The nutrition education sessions were associated with an increase in nutrition knowledge and other factors associated with food choice leading to increased consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods and reducing disordered eating/eating disorder symptoms. More research is required on methods to influence athlete eating behaviours to optimize energy intake to prevent associated negative health and performance outcomes.