Massart Alain, Rocha Ádrian, Ferreira José Pedro, Soares Carmen, Campos Maria João, Martinho Diogo
Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, 3040-248 Coimbra, Portugal.
Research Center for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), 3040-248 Coimbra, Portugal.
J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025 Jan 2;10(1):16. doi: 10.3390/jfmk10010016.
: Athletes increasingly turn to nutrition and supplements to enhance performance, yet the evidence surrounding the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet (MD) remains inconclusive. This scoping review aims to evaluate identify gaps in the existing literature and provide implications for future research on the MD's potential to improve athletic performance across various demographics, sport types, and performance measures. : We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed studies published across four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Scielo, and Google Scholar) using the following terms and their combinations: "mediterranean diet", "performance", "athlete", "sport". The search placed no restrictions on the experimental design or the time period of the publication and focused on athletes regardless of competitive level. We examined targeted studies about the MD's effects on key performance metrics, such as endurance, strength, and speed, while also evaluating possible confounding factors like dietary intake, body composition, and training status. We further aimed to identify gaps in the literature by investigating the consistency of dosing protocols, supplementation duration, and methodologies used. : The preliminary findings suggest that while some studies report benefits of the MD for recovery and endurance, only 40% show statistically significant improvements in performance outcomes, often with methodological limitations. The studies also lacked homogeneity in participant demographics, dosage, and performance assessments, hindering comparability. Our review highlights the need for future research that incorporates standardized dosing, homogeneous athlete populations, and controlled dietary conditions. : This review provides a framework to guide further research and offers insights into the potential role of the MD in sports nutrition.
运动员越来越多地转向营养和补充剂来提高成绩，然而关于地中海饮食（MD）功效的证据仍然不确凿。本综述旨在评估现有文献中的差距，并为未来研究MD在不同人口统计学、运动类型和成绩指标方面提高运动成绩的潜力提供启示。我们使用以下术语及其组合对四个数据库（PubMed、Scopus、Scielo和谷歌学术）中发表的同行评审研究进行了系统检索：“地中海饮食”、“成绩”、“运动员”、“运动”。该检索对实验设计或发表时间没有限制，且关注所有竞技水平的运动员。我们研究了关于MD对关键成绩指标（如耐力、力量和速度）影响的针对性研究，同时还评估了饮食摄入、身体成分和训练状态等可能的混杂因素。我们还旨在通过调查给药方案、补充持续时间和所用方法的一致性来找出文献中的差距。初步研究结果表明，虽然一些研究报告了MD对恢复和耐力有益，但只有40%的研究显示成绩结果有统计学上的显著改善，且往往存在方法学上的局限性。这些研究在参与者人口统计学、剂量和成绩评估方面也缺乏同质性，妨碍了可比性。我们的综述强调了未来研究需要纳入标准化给药、同质运动员群体和可控饮食条件。本综述提供了一个指导进一步研究的框架，并深入探讨了MD在运动营养中的潜在作用。
