Sports Nutrition

Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA), opens in a new tab is Australia’s peak professional body for dietitians specialising in sports nutrition. They work to proactively enhance the performance and health of people they work with through empowering behaviour change and improvement in lifestyle. SDA maintains strong links with Sports Medicine Australia [SMA] and Exercise and Sport Science Australia [ESSA].

Vision: For Accredited Sports Dietitians to be leaders in health and performance through sports nutrition.

Mission: To enhance the performance and health of all by supporting, educating and advocating the role of Sports Dietitians.

Dietitians Australia (DA), opens in a new tab is the leading voice in nutrition and dietetics in Australia, providing strategic leadership in food and nutrition through empowerment, advocacy, education, accreditation and communication. As Australia's peak industry body for dietetic and nutrition professionals, DA represents over 9000 members in Australia and overseas.

Mission: to champion the professional nutrition and dietetic workforce to empower people and communities.

International Confederation of Dietetic Associations [ICDA], opens in a new tab is an organisation of national associations of Dietitians and Nutritionists. The ICDA is recognised as the largest world-wide body of dietetics professionals, with 50 member National Dietetic Associations representing over 200,000 Dietitian-Nutritionists. It supports national dietetic associations (NDA) and their members beyond national and regional boundaries.

International Society of Sports Nutrition [ISSN], opens in a new tab is a world leading non-profit academic society providing science-based sports nutrition and supplement information through its peer reviewed journal (JISSN) and conferences.

Mission: Dedicated to promoting the science and application of evidence-based sports nutrition and supplementation.

Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport [PINES], opens in a new tab is a nonprofit organisation focused on linking professionals in nutrition, exercise, and sport around the globe, and achieving optimal support for performance, health and injury prevention for active and athletic individuals worldwide.

Mission: To grow and nurture a global community of professionals in nutrition for exercise and sport by connecting and encouraging members to develop and share evidence-based knowledge, practices and experiences, and to provide education, guidance and thought leadership in sport and exercise nutrition.

• Evidence-based position statements and best practice guidelines, opens in a new tab, Australian Institute of Sport, (accessed 30 April 2025). The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) develops evidence-based position statements on new and complex topics in sports science and sports medicine, in order to provide guidance and leadership for the Australian high performance sport system.
• Disordered eating in high performance sport position statement , Kimberley Wells, Nikki Jeacocke, Renee Appaneal, Hilary Smith, Nicole Vlahovich, Louise Burke, David Hughes, Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC), (September 2020). The Australian Institute of Sport and the National Eating Disorders Collaboration have collaborated to provide this position statement, containing guidelines for athletes, coaches, support staff, clinicians and sporting organisations. The guidelines support the prevention and early identification of disordered eating, and promote timely intervention to optimise nutrition for performance in a safe, supported, purposeful and individualised manner. This position statement is a call to action to all involved in sport to be aware of poor self-image and poor body image among athletes. The practical recommendations should guide the clinical management of disordered eating in high performance sport.
  • Additional information and resources for high performance and community sport are available on the AIS website.
• Sports Dietitians Australia Position Statement: Sports nutrition for the adolescent athlete, opens in a new tab, Desbrow, B., McCormack, J., Burke, L. M., et.al., International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, Volume 24(5), pp.570-584, (2014). It is the position of Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) that adolescent athletes have unique nutritional requirements as a consequence of undertaking daily training and competition in addition to the demands of growth and development. As such, SDA established an expert multidisciplinary panel to undertake an independent review of the relevant scientific evidence and consulted with its professional members to develop sports nutrition recommendations for active and competitive adolescent athletes.

• International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for Athletics, opens in a new tab, Louise M. Burke, Linda M. Castell, Douglas J. Casa, et.al, Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, Volume 29(2), pp.73-84, (March 2019). This consensus statement provides a summary of the contemporary principles of sports nutrition, identifying strategies that may be used by competitors in Athletics to enjoy a long, healthy, and successful career in their chosen event. The focus targets high-performance Athletes, while acknowledging the needs of some special elite populations (e.g., adolescents, females, masters) as well as the opportunity for the many nonelite competitors who enjoy Athletics (e.g., recreational marathon runners) to benefit from an appropriate translation of these principles into their own pursuits.
• Consensus Statement Immunonutrition and Exercise, opens in a new tab. Bermon, Stéphane; Castell, Lindy M.; Calder, Philip C. et.al., Exercise Immunology Review, Volume 23, pp.8-50, (2017). A panel of knowledgeable contributors from across the globe provides a consensus of updated science, including the background, the aspects for which a consensus actually exists, the controversies and, when possible, suggested directions for future research.
• International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise, opens in a new tab. Ralf Jäger, Chad M. Kerksick, Bill I. Campbell, et.al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Volume 14, Article 20, (June 2017). The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) provides an objective and critical review related to the intake of protein for healthy, exercising individuals.
• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: diets and body composition, opens in a new tab. Aragon, Alan A., Brad J. Schoenfeld, Robert Wildman, et.al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Volume 14, article 16, (June 2017). The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) bases the following position stand on a critical analysis of the literature regarding the effects of diet types (macronutrient composition; eating styles) and their influence on body composition.

• IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S): 2018 update, opens in a new tab, Mountjoy M, Sundgot-Borgen JK, Burke LM, et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 52(11), pp.687-697, (2018). The IOC RED-S consensus authors have reconvened to provide an update summary of the interim scientific progress in the field of relative energy deficiency with the ultimate goal of stimulating advances in RED-S awareness, clinical application and scientific research to address current gaps in knowledge.
• IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete, opens in a new tab, Maughan RJ, Burke LM, Dvorak J, et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 52(7), pp.439-455, (2018). Nutrition usually makes a small but potentially valuable contribution to successful performance in elite athletes, and dietary supplements can make a minor contribution to this nutrition programme. The appropriate use of some supplements can benefit the athlete, but others may harm the athlete’s health, performance, and/or livelihood and reputation (if an antidoping rule violation results). This review summarises the issues faced by high-performance athletes and their support team (coach, trainer, nutritionist, physician) when considering the use of supplements, with the goal of providing information to assist them to make informed decisions.
• IOC consensus statement: beyond the Female Athlete Triad—Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), opens in a new tab, Mountjoy, Margo, Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen, Louise Burke, et.al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 48(7), pp.491-497, (2014). Protecting the health of the athlete is a goal of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC convened an expert panel to update the 2005 IOC Consensus Statement on the Female Athlete Triad. This Consensus Statement replaces the previous and provides guidelines to guide risk assessment, treatment and return-to-play decisions.

• Nutritional Supplement Position Statement, opens in a new tab. BDA: The Association of UK Dietitians, (December 2022). The aim of this position statement is to provide Performance Nutritionists (PN) and other Athlete Support Personnel (ASP) with a guide to appropriately assess the need for supplementation and reduce the risk of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV). It will provide the practical guidelines and tools to support athletes, PN and ASP.
  • This document should be read in conjunction with the SENR Clean Sport Commitment Statement., opens in a new tab

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association, opens in a new tab (NATA) is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession in the USA. NATA provides a range of scientifically based, peer reviewed position statements , opens in a new tab , including:

• National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Fluid Replacement for the Physically Active, opens in a new tab, Brendon P. McDermott, Scott A. Anderson, Lawrence E. Armstrong, et al., Journal of Athletic Training, Volume 52(9), pp.877-895, (2017). Recommends to educate physically active people regarding the benefits of fluid replacement to promote performance and safety and the potential risks of both hypohydration and hyperhydration on health and physical performance. Quantify sweat rates for physically active individuals during exercise in various environments. Work with individuals to develop fluid-replacement practices that promote sufficient but not excessive hydration before, during, and after physical activity.
• Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance, opens in a new tab, D. Travis Thomas, Kelly Anne Erdman, Louise M. Burke, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Volume 116(3)m pp.501-528, (2016). It is the position of Dietitians of Canada, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American College of Sports Medicine that the performance of, and recovery from, sporting activities are enhanced by well-chosen nutrition strategies.
• National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Exertional Heat Illnesses,, opens in a new tab Douglas J. Casa; Julie K. DeMartini; Michael F. Bergeron, et.al., Journal of Athletic Training, Volume 50(9), pp.986-1000, (2015). Presents best-practice recommendations for the prevention, recognition, and treatment of exertional heat illnesses (EHIs) and to describe the relevant physiology of thermoregulation.
• National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Position Statement: Evaluation of Dietary Supplements for Performance Nutrition,, opens in a new tab Jackie L. Buell; Rob Franks; Jack Ransone, et.al., Journal of Athletic Training, Volume 48(1), pp.124-136, (2013). To help athletic trainers promote a ‘‘food-first’’ philosophy to support health and performance, understand federal and sport governing body rules and regulations regarding dietary supplements and banned substances, and become familiar with reliable resources for evaluating the safety, purity, and efficacy of dietary supplements.