The Impact of a Nutritional Intervention Program on Eating Behaviors in Italian Athletes

Annalisa Terenzio, Alice Cassera, Adriano Gervasoni, Alessandra Pozzi, Antonina Orlando, Andrea Greco, Paola Palestini and Emanuela Cazzaniga
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Annalisa Terenzio: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore, 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
Alice Cassera: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore, 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
Adriano Gervasoni: Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
Alessandra Pozzi: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore, 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
Antonina Orlando: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore, 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
Andrea Greco: Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
Paola Palestini: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore, 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
Emanuela Cazzaniga: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore, 48, 20900 Monza, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-8

Abstract: A balanced diet is a fundamental component of athletes’ health, training, and performance. The majority of athletes choose adequate quantities of macronutrients but, at the same time, do not respect World Health Organization dietary guidelines, eating a lot of discretionary food and not drinking enough water. Athletes need more nutritional education to improve the quality of their food choice. By modifying their eating habits, they could also enhance their performance. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact of nutritional intervention on eating habits in a group of Northern Italian athletes. A sample of 87 athletes (41 males and 46 females) aged 16.5 ± 2.9 was enrolled. We organized meetings and detected eating habits (before and after the meetings) using a food frequencies questionnaire. We found that nutritional intervention positively affected participants consumption of vegetables ( p < 0.05), nuts ( p < 0.001), legumes ( p < 0.001), and fish ( p < 0.05). Other aspects of the athletes’ eating habits were not significantly improved. Some gender differences were found; males increased their consumption of vegetables ( p < 0.05) and nuts ( p < 0.001), while females increased their intake of legumes ( p < 0.001). Our finding suggested that nutritional intervention could promote healthy eating habits among athletes. If sports nutrition experts, coaches, personal trainers, sports medicine experts, and athletes cooperated, they could guarantee athletes’ health status.

Keywords: nutritional intervention; athletes; lifestyle; nutrition; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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