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Evidencing the Impact of Diet on Sports Performance

Article Collection

Collection Editors: 
Tom Clifford (Loughborough University, UK) 
Tara Coppinger (Munster Technological University, Ireland)
Fred DiMenna (Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, USA)
Daniel Peart (Northumbria University, UK) 

© https://pixabay.com/photos/a-change-in-lifestyle-banana-diet-1430599/

The impact of diet on exercise performance has long been recognized and well-studied. However, there is still a lack of evidence determining how the body harnesses nutrients and their usefulnesses. The maximizing effect of nutrition on sports performance in athletes with disease and disability especially needs greater research attention. 

This Article Collection published by BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation showcases insightful articles on how diet and nutrition impact exercise and sports performance. Of note, there are two randomized studies, combining prescribed exercise plus dietary supplement, in patients with cerebrovascular disease and male smokers. Three state-of-the-art pieces review Mobile applications for sport nutritionists, The effects of cocoa flavanols on muscle recovery, and The translational potential of dietary nitrate on population health. One other, Peak week recommendations for bodybuilders: an evidence-based approach, was even highlighted on a popular training podcast.


  1. Frequent dieting is common in athletes attempting to achieve a body composition perceived to improve performance. Excessive dieting may indicate disordered eating (DE) behaviors and can result in clinical eati...

    Authors: Austin J. Graybeal, Andreas Kreutzer, Jada L. Willis, Robyn Braun-Trocchio, Kamiah Moss and Meena Shah
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2022 14:157
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is a physiological phenomenon that acutely improves voluntary muscular performance following a conditioning activity. A large and growing body of literature has i...

    Authors: Aleksandra Filip-Stachnik, Michał Spieszny, Lidia Stanisz and Michał Krzysztofik
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2022 14:93
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Beetroot juice (BJ) and caffeine (CAF) are considered as ergogenic aids among athletes to enhance performance, however, the ergogenic effects of BJ and CAF co-ingestion are unclear during team-sport-specific ...

    Authors: Erfan Berjisian, Kerry McGawley, Bryan Saunders, Raúl Domínguez, Majid S. Koozehchian, Caio Victor Coutinho de Oliveira, Ramin Rafiei, Hossein Miraftabi, Amir Sarshin and Alireza Naderi
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2022 14:52
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Blood volume (BV) is a critical factor for physical endurance in chronic stroke patients, while hypervolemia can worsen hypertension in these patients. This prospective study assessed whether rehabilitation co...

    Authors: Chika Sato, Yoshi-ichiro Kamijo, Yuta Sakurai, Shohei Araki, Yuki Sakata, Ayana Ishigame, Kota Murai, Izumi Yoshioka and Fumihiro Tajima
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2022 14:38
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. Exercise-induced muscle damage typically caused by unaccustomed exercise results in pain, soreness, inflammation, and muscle and liver damages. Antioxidant supplementation might be a useful approach to reduce ...

    Authors: Vahid Parvizi Mastali, Rastegar Hoseini and Mohammad Azizi
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2022 14:7
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. As combat sports are classified by body mass, many athletes engage in rapid weight loss (RWL) prior to competition so they can gain an advantage over lighter opponents. Following the weigh-in, athletes engage ...

    Authors: Nemanja Lakicevic, Diba Mani, Antonio Paoli, Roberto Roklicer, Antonino Bianco and Patrik Drid
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:154
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  8. Among athletes, bodybuilders are more predisposed to the use of dietary supplements (DS) and hormones (H) to increase in adaptations to physical training and performance. The purpose of the study was to identi...

    Authors: Paolo Montuori, Ilaria Loperto, Carmine Paolo, Davide Castrianni, Raffaele Nubi, Elvira De Rosa, Raffaele Palladino and Maria Triassi
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:147
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS) contain testosterone-like androgens and are used as supplements to improve performance, therapeutic measures, appearance, and muscular development.

    Authors: Ameen Mosleh Almohammadi, Anas Mohammed Edriss and Turki Talal Enani
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:117
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. Lightweight rowers commonly utilize weight loss techniques over 24-h before competition to achieve the qualifying weight for racing. The objective was to investigate, using a quasi-experimental design, whether...

    Authors: Dayton J. Kelly, Sarah L. West, Nathan O’Keeffe and Liana E. Brown
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:115
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. People worldwide have a high intake of caffeine. Active adults are among the group of people who have always been interested in caffeine as an ergogenic aid. This study aims at examining the association betwee...

    Authors: Zeina Tayba, Yonna Sacre, Randa Attieh and Haider Mannan
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:104
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. This study aimed to investigate the interaction effect of aerobic exercise and vitamin D supplementation on inflammation (TNF-α, IL-6, CC16, SP-D, and CC16/SP-D ratio) and lung function (FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC r...

    Authors: Leila Nikniaz, Morteza Ghojazadeh, Hooman Nateghian, Zeinab Nikniaz, Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi and Hadi Pourmanaf
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:102
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. Severe rapid weight loss (RWL) induces a decrease in muscle glycogen (mGly). Nevertheless, adequate carbohydrate intake after RWL has not been reported to optimize muscle glycogen following a weigh-in the even...

    Authors: Emi Kondo, Keisuke Shiose, Takuya Osawa, Keiko Motonaga, Akiko Kamei, Kohei Nakajima, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Takahiro Wada, Shigeki Nishiguchi and Hideyuki Takahashi
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:96
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  14. Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, muscle soreness, and reductions in muscle function. Cocoa flavanols (CF) are (poly)phenols with antioxidant and anti-...

    Authors: Liam D. Corr, Adam Field, Deborah Pufal, Tom Clifford, Liam D. Harper and Robert J. Naughton
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:90
    Content type: Review Published on:

  15. Bodybuilding is a competitive endeavor where a combination of muscle size, symmetry, “conditioning” (low body fat levels), and stage presentation are judged. Success in bodybuilding requires that competitors a...

    Authors: Guillermo Escalante, Scott W. Stevenson, Christopher Barakat, Alan A. Aragon and Brad J. Schoenfeld
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:68
    Content type: Review Published on:

  16. Dietary inorganic nitrate (NO3−) is a polyatomic ion, which is present in large quantities in green leafy vegetables and beetroot, and has attracted considerable attention in recent years as a potential health-pr...

    Authors: Oliver M. Shannon, Chris Easton, Anthony I. Shepherd, Mario Siervo, Stephen J. Bailey and Tom Clifford
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:65
    Content type: Review Published on:

  17. Basketball is the most popular sport in Lebanon. Adequate nutrition has been established to be a key component of optimal athletic performance, recovery from exercise and exercise-induced injury and documented...

    Authors: Jocelyne Matar Boumosleh, Catherine el Hage and Antoine Farhat
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:53
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  18. The aim of this study was to analyze the consumption of sports supplements (SS) in competitive level fencers and compare differences based on sex and competitive level (international and national).

    Authors: Fernando Mata, Raúl Domínguez, Álvaro López-Samanes, Ángela Sánchez-Gómez, Pablo Jodra and Antonio J. Sánchez-Oliver
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:50
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. Omega3 fatty acids as a ligand of energy-related genes, have a role in metabolism, and energy expenditure. These effects are due to changes in the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma...

    Authors: Sara Moradi, Mohamadreza Alivand, Yaser KhajeBishak, Mohamad AsghariJafarabadi, Maedeh Alipour, Philip D. Chilibeck and Beitullah Alipour
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:48
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  20. The ECA2/Ang-(1–7)/Mas axis is shown to be involved in effects mediated by physical exercise, as it can induce the release of nitric oxide (ON) and bradykinin (BK), which are potent vasodilators. The vasodilat...

    Authors: Samara Silva de Moura, Adália Táci Pereira Mendes, Francisco de Assis Dias Martins-Júnior, Nádia Lúcia Totou, Daniel Barbosa Coelho, Emerson Cruz de Oliveira, Daisy Motta-Santos, Robson Augusto Souza dos Santos and Lenice Kappes Becker
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:47
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  21. Rapid weight loss (RWL) is commonly practiced in combat sports. Both magnitude and methods used to induce RWL are largely similar among combat sports, but currently, there is no data on RWL methodology used by...

    Authors: Patrik Drid, Flavia Figlioli, Nemanja Lakicevic, Ambra Gentile, Valdemar Stajer, Bojan Raskovic, Nina Vojvodic, Roberto Roklicer, Tatjana Trivic, Sergey Tabakov, Sergey Eliseev and Antonino Bianco
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:39
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Few nutritional markers reflect the hypermetabolic state of athletes with high levels of skeletal muscle. Although branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) play crucial roles in protein metabolism in skeletal muscle,...

    Authors: Katsuhiko Tsunekawa, Ryutaro Matsumoto, Kazumi Ushiki, Larasati Martha, Yoshifumi Shoho, Yoshimaro Yanagawa, Hirotaka Ishigaki, Akihiro Yoshida, Osamu Araki, Kiyomi Nakajima, Takao Kimura and Masami Murakami
    Citation: BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 13:1
    Content type: Research article Published on: