The DOI matches its Crossref record; 151 of the 152 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 172 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders
Open accessAbstract
Information regarding the dietary requirements and consumption of young athletes is limited. Hence, the aim of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive combination of research and review papers on the nutritional status of young athletes aged 5–18 years old, as well as quantitative, qualitative, wholesome foods, food choices, and eating disordered data concerning the dietary requirements for growing young athletes. This study involved systematic searches of electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science. The specific criteria for identifying research papers published in English from July 1980 until May 2024 were included. Only 48 studies out of 1,262 were included in this narrative review. The findings of this study suggest that, compared with adults, junior athletes need a unique approach to meet their dietary needs. Growth, development, and general athletic performance depend on macronutrients, as they are vital nutrients for young active athletes. However, research on enhancing junior athletes’ performance is still in progress, and studies on hydration status, and eating disorders are limited.
Overview
CoChat Summary
TL;DR
This narrative review synthesizes 48 studies involving 4,005 junior athletes aged 5–18 years and concludes that junior athletes have distinct nutritional needs, yet many fail to meet dietary recommendations and are at risk of eating disorders. Macronutrients are emphasized as vital for growth, development, and performance, but evidence on hydration, supplements, and eating disorders in this population remains limited.
Key findings
- The review included 48 research articles involving 4,005 juniors from an initial 1,262 records; it concludes that junior athletes need a unique approach compared with adults, with macronutrients vital for growth, development, and athletic performance.
- Many junior athletes did not adhere to healthy nutrition guidelines and showed energy imbalances or nutrient deficiencies. In one included study, male junior athletes consumed 2,285.5 kcal versus a recommended 2,650 kcal, with only 8.1% meeting the recommended caloric intake and generally meeting about 60–80% of macronutrient and micronutrient needs.
- Eating disorder risk varied across studies: 33.3% of adolescent swimmers were identified as at risk of eating disorders; a global meta-analysis of over 70,000 athletes reported 19% engaged in disordered eating; Norwegian elite adolescent athletes had 7.0% prevalence versus 2.3% in non-athlete controls; and Spanish elite athletes showed approximately 5% possible eating disorders (7.6% females, 2.5% males).
- Supplement use was prevalent, with protein-based supplements and multivitamins most common among males and caffeine anhydrous among females; caffeine studies generally showed ergogenic effects on performance, but evidence was limited and often male-only.
Methods
- Narrative review using PRISMA-guided searches of Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science, plus manual reference searching, covering English-language articles from July 1980 to May 2024.
- Inclusion criteria focused on healthy young athletes aged 5–18 years; exclusions included adults, non-athletes, diseased or disabled individuals, non-English articles, reviews, and books.
- From 1,262 initially identified articles, 839 were removed after keyword analysis and 48 research articles involving 4,005 juniors were included; data were extracted independently by two authors and narratively synthesized into macronutrients, micronutrients, supplements, and eating disorders.
Limitations
- The paper states that research on junior athletes’ performance, hydration status, and eating disorders is limited; only vitamin D had studies among vitamins in this review, and clinical trials of nutrients, supplements, and eating disorders in junior athletes are limited.
- The paper states that eating disorder studies often rely on self-reported questionnaires whose effectiveness and validity in athletes are questioned, lack precise terminology for disordered eating, focus on specific groups or sports, and often lack non-athlete controls of the same age.
- Evident from the text: as a narrative review, no formal meta-analysis or risk-of-bias/quality appraisal is described, and many included studies have small samples (e.g., n=5, 9, 10, 12) and sex-skewed samples, limiting generalizability.
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Claims the paper makes
0 Valid · 13 Not valid · 132 Not checked · 34 Own results and interpretations
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“In addition, the typical dietary intake did not meet the recommended intake to meet their needs for macro- and micronutrients (17, 21, 22, 24) (Table 1).”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [17] Insani, 2023, The relationship between food consumption and nutritional status of male junior athletes: a cross sectional study in Sumedang, Int J Hum Mov Sports Sci source
- Not checked yetcites [21] Braun, 2018, Nutrition status of young elite female German football players, Pediatr Exerc Sci source
- Not checked yetcites [22] Dey, 2018, Comparison of dietary intake, energy adequacy and anthropometric parameters between Indian junior male and female hockey players, Malays J Nutr doi:10.5555/20193019973
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
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In the paper
“and are more susceptible to eating disorders (18).”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [18] Assyifa, 2023, Correlation between body image, eating disorders, and nutrient adequacy level with nutritional status of adolescent swimmers in Bogor City, Indonesia Am Nutr source
plainstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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A result the paper states — it cites no source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Information regarding the dietary requirements and consumption of young athletes is limited.”
- Also stated in: § Introduction · plain
“There is limited information available about the nutritional needs, nutritional intake, wholesome food, and eating disorders for young athletes.”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Abstract
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Also stated in: § Introduction · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“A total of 1,262 research and review articles were obtained in the initial search, and only 48 research articles involving 4,005 juniors related to the nutritional status of junior athletes (≤ 18 years) remained (Figure 1).”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Research on the effects of vitamins and vitamin supplements on junior athletes is limited and inconclusive.”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results > Vitamins
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
69 more claims
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Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Young athletes exhibit higher energy requirements compared to non-athlete peers due to simultaneous energy expenditure for growth and sport performance [19,20].”
From Use of Nutritional Strategies, Bioactive Compounds, and Dietary Supplements in Young Athletes: From Evidence to Potential Risks—A Narrative Review (2025) · cites this paper as [19]
In the citing paper
“An inadequate understanding of fuelling strategies, recovery processes and micronutrient requirements may contribute to negative energy balance, impaired growth, and increased susceptibility to illness and injury [126].”
From Dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and behavior in youth team sport athletes: a scoping review and call to advance research and practice (2026) · cites this paper as [126]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
“| 22 | Caffeine’s effect on intermittent sprint cycling performance with different rest intervals. | Lee C. (30) | 2011 | RCT | Caffeine | 14 | 18.7 ± 0.8 | 100% |”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Materials and methods > Data selection
“Articles were included based on peer-reviewed published work in the English language and articles with healthy young athletes aged 5–18 years old.”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
“| 22 | Caffeine’s effect on intermittent sprint cycling performance with different rest intervals. | Lee C. (30) | 2011 | RCT |”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > References
“30. Lee CL Cheng CF Lin JC Huang HW. Caffeine’s effect on intermittent sprint cycling performance with different rest intervals. Eur J Appl Physiol. (2012) 112: 2107– 16.”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results > Risk factors and prevalence of eating disorders among junior athletes
“In a study by Teixidor-Batlle et al. (154) approximately 5% (7.6% of females and 2.5% of male athletes) of 646 Spanish elite athletes with a mean age of 16.7 demonstrated the possibility of having EDs”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > References
“154. Reel JJ Galli N Miyairi M Voelker D Greenleaf C. Development and validation of the intuitive exercise scale.”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results > Supplements
“Table 1 shows that a study of junior Canadian athletes concluded that dietary sources of vitamin D, calcium, iron, and folate (for female athletes) should be the basic concern and interest (39).”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
“| 32 | The preliminary analysis of protein catabolism and nitrogen balance in young gymnasts. | Sawicki P. (39) | 2018 | RCT | CHO and Protein supplementation |”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results > Vitamins
“The effects of other vitamins on junior athletes were not the topic of any scientific studies (Table 1).”
§ Junior athletes’ nutritional demands: a narrative review of consumption and prevalence of eating disorders > Results
“| 34 | Vitamin C, A and E supplementation decreases the expression of HSPA1A and HSPB1 genes in the leukocytes of young polish figure skaters during a 10-day training camp. | Zychowska M. (41) | 2015 | RCT | Vitamin C, A and E supplementation |”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Amawi, A., Khataybeh, B., Al Aqaili, R., Ababneh, N., Alnimer, L., Qoqazeh, A., Oukal, F., Jahrami, H., Mousa Ay, K., Al Saoud, H., & Ghazzawi, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Jordan (JO)
- Jordan University of Science and Technology (JO)
- Al-Balqa Applied University (JO)
- Government Hospitals (BH)
- Corresponding author
- Ghazzawi, Hadeel
- Venue
- Frontiers in Nutrition
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2024-09-24
- Volume
- 11
- Pages
- 1390204-1390204
- ISSN
- 2296-861X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11458482
- OpenAlex
- W4402786190
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 152
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 8
- FWCI
- 1.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Nutrition (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Jordan
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- youth athletes, nutrient requirements, eating disorders, dietary intake, macronutrients, hydration status, food choice, athletic performance
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