Improvements in nutrition knowledge have been associated with increased carbohydrate consumption and greater adherence to dietary recommendations among female athletes. In order to assess whether nutrition knowledge interventions in female Gaelic games players may be beneficial, it is necessary to first of all investigate current levels of nutrition knowledge in this population. Given that many demographic characteristics have been shown to influence nutrition knowledge, it is also important for these to be investigated. The aims of this study were to evaluate the nutrition knowledge of female Gaelic games players, compare knowledge by players’ characteristics and identify players’ preferences for information and support. A validated 35-item questionnaire was completed by 328 female Gaelic games players (Age: 23.7 ± 5.0 years). Players’ mean nutrition knowledge score was 46.0% ± 11.8% and classified as “poor”. Elite players scored greater (+4.5–5.9%, p < 0.05) than subelite players. Players with higher levels of general education, history of formal nutrition education and previous advice from a nutritionist also presented greater nutrition knowledge (+3.7–7.5%, p < 0.05). Future education interventions with female Gaelic games players may lead to beneficial changes in dietary behaviour and would likely benefit from stratifying content based on athletes’ demographic characteristics, given the differences observed.

Nutrition knowledge is a key factor for consideration when evaluating the dietary intake of athletes. Positive associations have been established between higher nutrition knowledge and improved quality of dietary intake. Given the negative impact poor nutrition can have on performance and training adaptation, further investigation into athletes’ nutrition knowledge is warranted. Gaelic football is a field-based invasion team sport and players represent a unique sporting population due to their quasi-professional status. Inadequacies in players dietary intake have been observed, however no assessment of nutrition knowledge has been reported. This study examined players knowledge and compared results by playing level, education level, and history of nutrition education. An online survey was disseminated to a sample of male Gaelic football players (n = 152, mean age = 24.5 ± 5.9). This included 68 club (sub-elite) and 84 inter-county players (elite). Total score was 44.3 ± 12.7%, classified as “poor” and lower than previous findings from similar team sports. Significance was set at p<0.05 for all tests. There were no differences between playing level, however when grouped by education level those with master’s degree scored higher by 9.9% in comparison to leaving certificate (upper secondary) (P= 0.009, d = .805). Those with previous nutrition education also demonstrated higher scores by 12.5% (P<.001, d = 1.096). The evidence presented highlights that Gaelic football players may benefit from evidence-based nutrition education interventions. Future research should consider assessment of both nutrition knowledge and dietary intake to examine any direct influence upon behaviour and subsequently sporting performance.

Field-based team sports present large energetic demands given their intermittent high-intensity nature. Current evidence suggests that the dietary intake of female athletes may be insufficient to meet such demands, resulting in negative consequences for athletic performance and health. The primary aim of this review was to therefore assess the adequacy of dietary intake of female field-based team sport athletes when compared to dietary recommendations. A systematic search of databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and OpenGrey, was performed from the earliest record available until July 2020, obtaining an initial total of 2588 articles. To be included within the final review, articles were required to provide a quantitative assessment of baseline dietary intake specific to the target population. A total of 20 studies (n = 462) met the full eligibility criteria. A majority reported that the dietary intake of female field-based team sport athletes was insufficient in overall energy (2064 ± 309 kcal·day⁻¹), carbohydrate (4.3 ± 1.2 g·kg·day⁻¹), and iron intake (13.6 ± 6.2 mg·day⁻¹) when compared to recommendations. Future research is required to establish why female team sport athletes consistently demonstrate deficient dietary practices, and to explore the potential negative consequences of this.

It is well established that dietary intake can influence performance and modulate recovery in field-based invasion team sports such as soccer and rugby. However, very limited research currently exists examining dietary intake of Gaelic football players. This research aimed to examine the dietary intake of Gaelic football players 2 days prior to competition, on game day, and for 2 days post-competition. A five-day paper-based food diary was completed by 45 players (25 elite and 20 sub-elite). Preliminary inspection of diaries eliminated 11 participants, and analysis of Goldberg cut-offs identified 1 player as an under-reporter, leaving 33 players in the final analysis. Playing level had no effect on energy, carbohydrate, or fat intake. Average intake of energy was 2938 ± 618 kcal.day⁻¹, carbohydrate was 3.7 ± 1.42 g.kgbm⁻¹.day⁻¹, and fat was 1.34 ± 0.61 g.kgbm⁻¹.day⁻¹. However, elite players consumed 24.1% more protein than sub-elite players (2.2 ± 0.67 vs. 1.8 ± 0.62 g.kgbm⁻¹.day⁻¹). Regardless of playing level, players consumed inadequate amounts of carbohydrate to support optimal performance and recovery and consumed protein and fat in line with general sport nutrition guidelines. Given the unique demands placed on Gaelic football players, it may be necessary to develop nutrition guidelines specific to Gaelic football. Additionally, the design and implementation of Gaelic football-specific education-based interventions may be necessary to address the highlighted nutritional inadequacies.

Nutritional support often focuses on cooking and food skills such as food selection, recipe planning and meal preparation. Individuals with greater cooking and food skills confidence have previously displayed higher diet quality scores and lower intakes of overall calories, saturated fat and sugar. Despite this, the cooking and food skills of team sport athletes have yet to be investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between cooking and food skills confidence and athletes' demographic characteristics. A validated measure for the assessment of cooking and food skills confidence was distributed via an online survey. Participants were required to rate their confidence on a Likert scale (1 “very poor” – 7 “very good”) for 14 items related to cooking skills and 19 items for food skills. Food engagement, general health interest and self‐reported fruit and vegetable consumption as a measure of diet quality were also measured. The survey was completed by 266 team sport athletes (male: 150, female: 116, age: 24.8 ± 6.1 years). Group differences were explored using t‐tests and ANOVA and associations were evaluated using Spearman's correlation and hierarchical multiple regressions. Athletes' total cooking and food skills confidence was 62.7 ± 17.4 (64.0 ± 17.8%) and 83.8 ± 20.1 (63.0 ± 15.1%), respectively. Females reported greater confidence in both cooking (+20.3%, p < 0.01) and food skills (+9.2%, p < 0.01). Hierarchical multiple regressions explained 48.8% of the variance in cooking skills confidence and 44% of the variance in food skills confidence with gender, previous culinary training, cooking learning stage, general health interest and food engagement all remaining significant in the cooking skills confidence model and cooking frequency, previous culinary training, general health interest and food engagement remaining significant in the food skills confidence model. Male team sport athletes may benefit the most from educational interventions designed to increase cooking and food skills confidence.