Research summary · Nutrition and education
Nutrition knowledge improved without dietary change in youth handball
A brief group education programme examines whether better nutrition knowledge translates into changes in food intake or body composition among adolescent handball players.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Club-randomized controlled trial
- Journal
- Frontiers in Nutrition
- Population / context
- Adolescent female handball players
What the publication reports
Four clubs and 97 players aged 12–19 participated. Three 30-minute dietitian-led sessions improved nutrition knowledge immediately and at three months. Dietary intake, Mediterranean-diet adherence and body-composition outcomes did not change significantly following the intervention.
Limits and interpretation
Only four clusters were randomized, group sizes were unequal and the educational exposure was brief. Knowledge gains do not establish behavioural change, adequate fuelling or improved competitive performance.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Effect of a nutrition education intervention on sports nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, and body composition in female athletes: a randomized controlled trial
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42180584DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1821345Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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