Reasons for Collecting Dietary Information

KEY POINTS • Different protocols are available for collecting data on the eating practices of athletes according to the goals and available resources of the activity. • Retrospective methods (e.g., food frequency questionnaires and diet history) are limited by the athlete’s insights and memory, while prospective methods (e.g., food diaries) are limited by the tendency for the act of recording to alter usual intake. • Food diaries are a frequently used dietary assessment in research and athlete support, but should be checked for the common bias of underreporting. • New technologies provide the potential for more rapid and efficient dietary assessment protocols, but like all methods, need to be validated for use with athletic populations.