Research

Adherence

Full-time holistic sports nutrition support utilizing behavior-change techniques and supplemental protein significantly improves within-day protein distribution in provincial academy rugby players, increasing intake at multiple feeding occasions toward recommended thresholds.

If you are an athlete trying to optimize your protein intake, simply buying protein powder isn't enough. You need a structured support system. This study shows that combining education, regular check-ins with a nutritionist, and the availability of supplements helps athletes actually distribute their protein evenly across meals (e.g., breakfast, snacks, post-workout). This behavioral approach successfully shifted intake patterns, even if it didn't immediately change body composition in this short timeframe.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The implementation of full-time support may have facilitated a more balanced intake of dietary protein towards a recommended 0.4 g·kg−1 per meal... Dietary protein intake significantly increased at the breakfast eating occasion on low-volume training days and the post-gym eating occasion on high-volume days... towards the proposed 0.4 g·kg−1 per meal threshold
Charlie J. Roberts et al. · Nutrients · 2022

Why this rating

Small sample size (n=10), short duration (4 weeks), and lack of performance/lean mass outcomes limit generalizability.

Source

The Influence of Full-Time Holistic Support Delivered by a Sports Nutritionist on Within-Day Macronutrient Distribution in New Zealand Provincial Academy Rugby Union Players

Charlie J. Roberts et al. · Nutrients · 2022

DOI 10.3390/nu15010017

crossover · n=10Cited 2×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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