This review aims to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation on performance and performance-related conditions in athletes by evaluating randomized controlled studies from the MEDLINE (Pubmed), Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus (EBSCO) databases. From a total of 2304 relevant articles, 13 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Seven studies concern endurance athletes, one to rugby players, three refer to non-specified athletes, one to badminton players, and one involves baseball players. The evidence suggests that the integration of athletes’ diets with some bacterial strains and also the consumption of multi-strain compounds may lead to an improvement in performance and can positively affect performance-related aspects such as fatigue, muscle pain, body composition, and cardiorespiratory fitness. However, the type of supplementation and sport is very variable among the studies examined. Therefore, to obtain more solid evidence, further controlled and comparable studies are needed to expand the research regarding the possible repercussions of probiotics use on athletes’ performance.

The aim of this study was to analyze sedentary behaviors and dietary habits assumed by individuals regularly practicing exercise in a gym, sports athletes and inactive individuals. The Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire and the Healthy Dietary Habits Index were administered online to evaluate the time spent in sedentary activities during the week and the habits of food consumption among adult individuals from the Campania region, in the south of Italy. Of the 411 participants, 25% were inactive, 34% were gym practitioners and 41% practiced different sport disciplines. Significant differences were found for sedentary habits adopted during the week and diets between athletes and inactive participants. However, no significant differences were observed for sedentary activities on the weekend and some sedentary behaviors such as video gaming or working/studying during the week. With regard to diet, athletes showed healthier food choices, such as fruit and vegetable consumption. The findings of this study underline the need for enhancing the awareness of the local population regarding the detrimental effects of unhealthy dietary behaviors and sedentary time, especially but not exclusively among inactive individuals.

The aim of this review was to appraise the literature on the effects of probiotics supplementation on gastrointestinal (GI) and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) risk and prognosis in athletes. The search was conducted using the following electronic databases: MEDLINE (PubMed); Web of Science; Scopus; and SPORTDiscus (EBSCO). According to the PRISMA guidelines, randomized controlled studies performed on healthy athletes with a note dose of probiotics supplementation were considered. From the 2304 articles found, after eliminating reviews and studies on animals and unhealthy subjects and after screening of titles and abstracts, 403 studies were considered eligible. From these, in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 studies were selected, ten of which concerned endurance athletes. The majority of the studies reported beneficial effects of probiotics in reducing the risk of developing the examined infections or the severity of related symptoms. However, due to the differences in formulations used and populations analyzed in the available studies, further research is needed in this field to achieve stronger and more specific evidence.