Preventing Athlete Malnutrition through an Integrative Clinician-Supported App: Formative Research and App Description (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) as a consequence of athlete malnutrition remains a prominent issue, though it remains under-recognized in part due to the perceived outward health of athletes. The Eat2Win app was designed to combat RED-S and athlete malnutrition by providing education, behavior modification and connection with expert sports dietitians to athletes and sport professionals (professionals who work with athletes e.g., sport coaches, athletic trainers). OBJECTIVE A formative research approach was used to obtain opinions and establish preferences for a sports nutrition app in the target population (app end-users: athletes and sport professionals). METHODS Formative research topics included nutrition educational content, modes of in-app information and communication delivery, motivations and barriers to meal choices, and opinions on novel app functions. The purpose of this formative research was to inform additional developments of the Eat2Win app towards combatting RED-S and malnutrition in athletes. RESULTS Survey respondents (n=1352) reported a high interest in sports nutrition topics and provided key information regarding preferred preferences on modes of information and communication delivery along with motivators and barriers to their meal choices. Notably, survey respondents provided positive feedback and interest utilizing a novel function of the app: real-time meal feedback through food photography. CONCLUSIONS The Eat2Win app is designed to combat RED-S and athlete malnutrition. Results from this study provide critical information on end-user opinions and preferences and will be used to further develop the Eat2Win app. Future research will aim to determine whether the Eat2Win app can prevent RED-S and the risk of athlete malnutrition to improve both health and performance.