Table 2.

Summary table of articles used demonstrating efficacy of sports dietitians.

Title (Author)	Population	Intervention	Test	Main Outcomes	Significance
The Effects of a Sports Nutrition Education Intervention on Nutritional Status, Sport Nutrition Knowledge, Body Composition, and Performance during Off Season Training in NCAA Division I Baseball Players (Rossi et al., 2017) [33]	30 NCAA D1 baseball players	90-min nutritional education session followed by 45-min sessions every 3 weeks for 12 weeks.	3-day food logs, sports nutrition questionnaire, body composition, and performance tests	Energy, protein, and carbohydrate were increased significantly after intervention (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, p < 0.001, respectively) and protein and energy were no longer different than recommendations; only the nutrition intervention group decreased fat mass and body fat % (p = 0.014 and p = 0.023), intervention group had greater change in 5-10-5 shuttle (p = 0.030)	Dietary intervention by an RD can improve proper macronutrient consumption, improve body composition, and have potential performance benefit.
Nutrition education by a Registered Dietitian improves dietary intake and nutrition knowledge of a NCAA female volleyball team (Valliant et al., 2012) [8]	11 NCAA D1 female volleyball players	Individualized nutrition consults with an RD throughout intervention period 4 visits over 4 months	18 food logs, sports nutrition questionnaire	Energy, carbohydrate, and protein increased significantly post-intervention (p = 0.002, p = 0.010, p = 0.010) and ended up closer to recommendations, nutrition knowledge significantly increased (p = 0.001)	Dietary intervention by an RD can improve low energy and macronutrient intake and improve nutrition knowledge.
Impact of a Professional Nutrition Program on a Female Cross Country Collegiate Athlete (Syed-Abdul et al., 2018) [34]	Case study of D1 female track and field athlete with energy deficit and menstrual disturbance	1-month professional nutritional program with an RD	DXA scans pre and post with 2, 4, and 16-month follow up scans	Fat mass (2.54 kg to 10.5 kg) and body fat% (4.7% to 10.5%) increased post-intervention and through 16-month follow-up, improved subjective reports on well-being	Professional nutrition programming can help recover an athlete from energy deficit leading towards the athlete triad symptoms.
Availability of a sports dietitian may lead to improved performance and recovery of NCAA division I baseball athletes (Hull et al., 2017) [35]	99 NCAA D1 baseball players	Observation from three universities, 2/3 have RDs with CSSD certification and all have strength coaches without CISSN	Custom nutrition and dietary habit questionnaire	RD university groups consumed less fast-food (p = 0.020) and caffeine (p = 0.020) on weekdays and soda (p = 0.080) on weekends and were more likely to take daily multivitamin (p = 0.020) and consume fast food on team trips (p = 0.010). RD group also were more likely to eat before workouts (p = 0.010), refuel after workouts (p = 0.010), and prepare >3 meals weekly (p = 0.070)	Access to an RD improves daily eating habits and fueling/refueling around workouts and gamedays for college baseball players.
Sports nutrition knowledge among collegiate athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and strength and conditioning specialists (Torres-McGehee et al., 2012) [36]	579 participants (185 athletes, 131 coaches, 192 athletic trainers, 71 strength and conditioning specialists (SCS))	Cross-sectional survey	Multiple choice questionnaire developed by sports nutrition professionals	Athletes used SCS 16.2%, athletic trainers 11.4% and coaches 7.7% for nutrition resources with no significant use of an RD. Coaches, athletic trainers, and SCS recommended an RD as the top nutrition resource for athletes. 91% of athletes had inadequate nutrition knowledge while 64.1% of coaches, 28.6% of athletic trainers, and 16.9% of SCS had inadequate knowledge	Athletes consult staff members that are not properly trained in general and sports related nutrition knowledge for nutrition guidance.
Need for and Interest in a Sports Nutrition Mobile Device Application Among Division I Collegiate Athletes (Zuniga et al., 2017) [37]	71 NCAA D1 athletes in southern US (25 male)	Cross-sectional survey	Questionnaire on dietary habits, resources, knowledge, and perceived quality	Most participants used family (59.4%) as top nutrition resource with dietitian at 13.0%. 66.7% said they should eat healthier and 2.8% said they did not need to improve their diet. 77% believe carbohydrate loading is needed for a sprint and 40% did not know glycogen is carbohydrate stored in muscle and liver	Athletes rely on resources who are not properly trained in nutrition; athletes lack basic sports nutrition knowledge.