The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Investigating Nutrition and Hydration Knowledge and Practice among a Cohort of Age-Grade Rugby Union Players
Abstract
Optimal athletic performance relies on meeting specific nutritional requirements, encompassing adequate calorie intake, macronutrient intake, and hydration. Misinformation or misconceptions about these necessities are prevalent among young athletes. This study investigated nutrition and hydration knowledge and practices among 28 male rugby union players aged 16 to 17, participating in Munster Rugby’s 2023 Summer Age-Grade Development Programme, specifically the U18′s Schools Squad. The Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire assessed nutrition knowledge, while the Hydration Assessment Questionnaire evaluated hydration knowledge. Urinalysis for hydration status utilised urine specific gravity measurements pre-exercise on five separate days (1.018 ± 0.008 Usg). Dietary intake was recorded using a 3-day estimated food intake record on the Libro App, analysed with Nutritics software(Version 9.50). Suboptimal nutrition knowledge (49.6 ± 8.2%) and dietary practices were observed, with incongruent nutrient intakes compared to recommendations for adolescent athletes. While superior hydration knowledge (79.0 (77.3, 83.6) %) was evident, pre-exercise urine specific gravity readings indicated significant variation (p < 0.001) and signs of dehydration (USG > 1.020 Usg). No statistically significant correlations were found between knowledge and practices. The study highlights suboptimal nutrition and hydration knowledge and practices in youth athletes, suggesting the need for tailored support and educational interventions to enhance their overall health and performance. Further investigation into barriers and facilitators to dietary adherence is recommended for more effective interventions.
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“However, knowledge of dietary fats, fibre, micronutrients, supplementation and nutrient timing was consistently limited [45,58,72,73].”
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 [73]
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“Overall, youth team sport athletes demonstrated limited nutrition knowledge, with many studies reporting mean scores below 50% [71,73,77].”
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 [73]
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“The persistence of these knowledge gaps, despite repeated calls in the literature for professional support and education [36,56,59,65,73], may reflect limited resources, reliance on short-term education sessions, insufficient integration of behaviour change strategies and inadequate attention to the social and environmental contexts in which youth athletes make dietary choices.”
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 [73]
In the citing paper
“Notably, several studies reported protein intakes consistent with or above current adult sports nutrition recommendations alongside evidence of suboptimal energy intake [9,10,36,52,57,60,61,69,73].”
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 [73]
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Youth Athlete Development and Nutrition
Desbrow, B. (2021) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01534-6 · Cited by 159
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Cited by
Irwin, N., Ó Catháin, C., Ward, C., & Kelly, D. T. (2026) · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · doi:10.1080/15502783.2026.2671431 · Cited by 4
Metadata
- Authors
- Scanlon, S., & Norton, C.
- Affiliations
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-02-14
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 533
- ISSN
- 2072-6643
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 4
- Language
- en
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