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The relationship between vegetarian diet and sports performance: A systematic review
Athletes have been adopting vegetarian diets more often in recent years. This review by Hernández-Lougedo et al. (2023) seeks to determine the variations in dietary, performance, and health-related factors among athletes based on their omnivorous or vegetarian diets. Several databases, including Web of Science, Dialnet, Cochrane, and PubMed, were searched for relevant material. The terms “vegan diet,” “vegetarian diet,” “sport,” “exercise,” and “performance” were utilized. Six papers were included in the study after various inclusion criteria were used. In terms of physical performance (Vo2Máx, adherence exercise, sprint test, and muscle power) or health (psychological well-being, body composition, and social relationships), there were no significant differences found; however, vegetarian athletes’ dietary intake was significantly higher in carbohydrates and lower in proteins. The authors conclude by stating that it cannot be shown that vegetarian subjects do better in sports and that further study is needed in this area. [NPID: Vegetarian diet, vegan diet, performance, sport and exercise]
Year: 2023
