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Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review
Open accessAbstract
Dietary practices of masters athletes (MAs) may promote healthy ageing; however, they are poorly understood. The aims of this systematic review were to synthesise the literature on the dietary intakes of MAs and undertake comparisons between younger (35–50 years) and older (>50 years) MAs and the general population. A search was conducted across seven databases to identify relevant publications for screening and data extraction. Averages for energy intake (EI), macronutrients, and micronutrients were compared with data from the 2011–2012 Australian Health Survey (general population). Twenty-six studies (n = 2819) were included. Energy intake was higher for older (8908 kJ/d versus 7792 kJ/d) but not younger MAs (9073 kJ/d versus 8872 kJ/d) versus the general population. Younger versus older male MAs had higher energy and macronutrient intakes. Energy intake for older was comparable to younger female MAs (7819 kJ/d versus 7485 kJ/d), but older had higher protein, lower carbohydrate, and higher micronutrient intakes. Micronutrient intake was higher in MAs than the general population. Similar EIs for older MAs and younger general population may indicate potential for a higher-quality diet. Younger female MAs may restrict or misreport EI, requiring further investigation. There is a need for more comprehensive assessments of dietary intake in MAs to ascertain diet quality in relation to health.
Overview
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TL;DR
This systematic review synthesizes dietary intake data from 26 studies of masters athletes (n = 2819), showing generally higher energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intakes than the general Australian population, with some exceptions and possible underreporting. Younger female masters athletes may restrict or misreport energy intake, and more comprehensive diet-quality assessments are needed.
Key findings
- Older masters athletes had higher energy intake than the general population (8908 kJ/d versus 7792 kJ/d), while younger masters athletes did not (9073 kJ/d versus 8872 kJ/d).
- Younger male masters athletes had higher energy and macronutrient intakes than older male masters athletes; older female masters athletes had energy intake comparable to younger female masters athletes (7819 kJ/d versus 7485 kJ/d) but higher protein, lower carbohydrate, and higher micronutrient intakes.
- Micronutrient intake was higher in masters athletes than the general population; the largest micronutrient percentage difference reported was 125% between older female masters athletes’ iron intakes and their general population counterparts.
- Protein intakes relative to body weight ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 g/kg/day across 12 of 26 studies, but many masters athletes fell short of carbohydrate recommendations for endurance activity, with the highest relative intake reported as 5.4 g/kg BW/day for younger male triathlete masters athletes.
Methods
- Systematic review following PRISMA, registered on Open Science Framework, with searches in seven databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, AUSPORT) in August 2021 and updated in June 2022; 26 studies with 2819 participants met inclusion criteria.
- Included studies were mostly cross-sectional (17), plus three RCTs, two longitudinal, two case studies, one validation study, and one before-and-after study; dietary assessment methods included food records (n = 16), food frequency questionnaires (n = 8), dietary behaviour questionnaires, and diet history.
- Data were tabulated by age group (younger 35–50 years; older >50 years) and gender, and averages were compared with the 2011–2012 Australian Health Survey using percentage difference, with an arbitrary 10% difference cut-off for discussion.
Limitations
- The paper states that differences between masters athletes and Australian Health Survey data may have been influenced by different dietary assessment methods: most masters athlete studies used food records or food frequency questionnaires, while the Australian Health Survey used interviewer-administered 24 h recalls.
- The paper states there was inconsistency in reported data, including variation in units of measurement; male- or female-only results excluded mixed-cohort studies where gender could not be separated, reducing the pool size.
- The paper states that endurance sports were disproportionately represented, competitive versus noncompetitive masters athletes could not be compared, and only eight of 26 studies included the five key micronutrients selected for comparison, so micronutrient findings are unlikely to be representative of all masters athletes or usual dietary intakes.
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0 Valid · 0 Not valid · 34 Not checked · 73 Own results and interpretations
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
“Twenty-six studies (n = 2819) were included.”
- Also stated in: § 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics · plain
“A total of 2819 participants were included.”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > Abstract
plainn = 2,819- 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.
- Also stated in: § 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics · 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
“There was a greater difference in energy intake for older MAs and younger male MAs compared to the Australian population data.”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 3. Results > 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics
plainstates an association- 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.
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
“Higher energy intakes in MAs were generally reported in comparison to the Australian national average intakes, as well as higher micronutrient intakes, and they were more likely to meet national dietary guidelines.”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 4. Discussion
hedgedstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
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
“Energy intake was higher for older (8908 kJ/d versus 7792 kJ/d) but not younger MAs (9073 kJ/d versus 8872 kJ/d) versus the general population.”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > Abstract
plainstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
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
“Intake of micronutrients was lower for younger MAs (combined) for magnesium, zinc, and iron and for younger female MAs for all micronutrients except sodium.”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 3. Results > 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics
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.
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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
“Although there are reports summarizing the general dietary habits of master athletes [18] as well as the benefit of higher protein intakes than the current RDA for physical function in the general aging population [19], current literature does not provide sufficient evidence to develop dietary guidelines, specifically for the crucial nutrient protein for aging athletes.”
From Protein Intake, Physical Performance and Body Composition in Master Athletes—A Short Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [18]
In the citing paper
“A recent systematic review of the dietary intake of masters athletes indicated that while dietary intakes were generally higher than the general population, intakes of protein and carbohydrate may be insufficient to meet the demands of athletic performance and the intake of calcium might be lower than recommended for the maintenance of bone health [4].”
From Dietary Intake of Athletes at the World Masters Athletics Championships as Assessed by Single 24 h Recall (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“There are no known studies that have evaluated the underreporting of dietary intake in masters athletes [4], and therefore, this is a direction for future research by comparing reported intakes to double-labeled water for energy expenditure.”
From Dietary Intake of Athletes at the World Masters Athletics Championships as Assessed by Single 24 h Recall (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“A recent systematic review assessing dietary intake among master's athletes (> 35 y of age) showed eight of the 26 included studies reported on five key micronutrients: they found higher iron, calcium, and sodium intakes among the athletes compared to the general Australian population [21].”
From Dietary Intake of Canadian Middle‐Aged Endurance Athletes (2025) · cites this paper as [21]
In the citing paper
“A recent systematic review examining dietary practices of younger (35–50 years) and older (> 50 years) athletes competing in a variety of sporting disciplines (from endurance to power‐based) reported the highest protein intake among younger male athletes, and higher protein intake among older (vs. younger) female athletes [21].”
From Dietary Intake of Canadian Middle‐Aged Endurance Athletes (2025) · cites this paper as [21]
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
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 4. Discussion
“a difference of 125% between older female MAs’ iron intakes and those of their general population counterparts (Table 4)”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 3. Results > 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics
“Table 4 and Table 5 show the combined averages of nutrients for MAs 35–50 years and >50 years, respectively”
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
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 3. Results > 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics
“Seven studies reported micronutrients in mg/day [12,14,24,32,40,44,47]”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 4. Discussion
“Eight [12,14,24,32,40,44,47,50] out of 26 studies included the five key micronutrients selected for comparison in the data analysis”
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
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 2. Materials and Methods
“Two longitudinal studies assessed both baseline and follow-up dietary intake [24,25]”
§ Dietary Intake of Masters Athletes: A Systematic Review > 3. Results > 3.2. Participants and Study Characteristics
“two longitudinal [24,45]”
Citations
Cites
The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
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The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4 · Cited by 13,874
Afshin, A., Sur, P. J., Fay, K. A., Cornaby, L., Ferrara, G., Salama, J. S., Mullany, E. C., Abate, K. H., Abbafati, C., Abebe, Z., et al. (2019) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(19)30041-8 · Cited by 5,811
Skeletal muscle mass and distribution in 468 men and women aged 18–88 yr
Janssen, I., Heymsfield, S. B., Wang, Z., & Ross, R. (2000) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/jappl.2000.89.1.81 · Cited by 3,087
Bauer, J., Biolo, G., Cederholm, T., Cesari, M., Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., Morley, J. E., Phillips, S., Sieber, C., Stehle, P., Teta, D., et al. (2013) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021 · Cited by 2,553 · cited 3×
“Protein requirements for athletes are likely to be met with 1.2–2.0 g/kg per day, and requirements for older (nonathletic) individuals are suggested to be ≥ 1.2 g/kg/day [16].”
BackgroundInfluentialNutrition and Athletic Performance
(2016) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000000852 · Cited by 1,305
Carbohydrates for training and competition
Burke, L. M., Hawley, J. A., Wong, S. H. S., & Jeukendrup, A. E. (2011) · Journal of Sports Sciences · doi:10.1080/02640414.2011.585473 · Cited by 985
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“Alternatively, underconsumption may be part of a state of low energy availability (LEA), where energy intake minus exercise energy expenditure and energy intake (per kg of fat free mass) is suboptimal for health [56].”
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Cited by
Coronary atherosclerosis in athletes: emerging concepts and preventive strategies
Claessen, G., Eijsvogels, T. M. H., Albert, C. M., Baggish, A. L., Levine, B. D., Marijon, E., Michos, E. D., & La Gerche, A. (2025) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehae927 · Cited by 43
Pérez-Castillo, Í. M., Rueda, R., Pereira, S. L., Bouzamondo, H., Chicharro, J. L., Segura-Ortiz, F., & Atherton, P. J. (2025) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu17223503 · Cited by 25
Petkova, D., Stoyanova, S., Dinkov, G., & Bogdanov, M. G. (2025) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms262311264 · Cited by 19
Gonzalez, D. E., Dickerson, B. L., Roberts, B. M., Kurtz, J. A., Waldman, H. S., Gonzalez, A. M., McAllister, M. J., Heileson, J. L., Bloomer, R. J., Arent, S. M., et al. (2026) · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · doi:10.1080/15502783.2026.2629828 · Cited by 19
Leonhardt, T. P. M., Bristol, A., McLaurin, N., Forbes, S. C., Tanaka, H., Frings-Meuthen, P., Pesta, D., Rittweger, J., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2024) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu16040564 · Cited by 8
Metadata
- Authors
- Guo, S., Shaoni, G. L. L., Stuart-Smith, W. A., Davies, A. J., & Gifford, J. A.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- Corresponding author
- Gifford, Janelle A.
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2023-11-30
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 4973
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10708321
- OpenAlex
- W4389206102
- Semantic Scholar
- 4009e4c61ce4c8f3dff4bd7599171a559cb6852a
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 5
- FWCI
- 0.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Sydney
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutrition and Health Studies
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- masters athletes, dietary intake, energy intake, macronutrients, micronutrients, healthy aging, older adults, diet quality, sex differences, protein intake, carbohydrate intake
- MeSH terms
- Australia, Energy Intake, Diet, Dietary Carbohydrates, Dietary Proteins, Eating, Female, Humans, Male, Micronutrients, Athletes
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