Seasonal health tracking of Australian Football League Women’s athletes

Background: Studies evaluating the dietary intake of Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) athletes are few and limited to the preseason. This prospective observational study aims to evaluate seasonal changes in dietary intake and health parameters of professional AFLW athletes. Methodology: Dietary intake (3-day weighed food records), body composition (bioelectrical impedance analysis, skinfolds), physical performance (global positioning system, GPS), and iron status (fasted blood sample) were assessed in 19 athletes (24 ± 5 years, 170 ± 6 cm, 22.8 ± 2.1 kg/m2) at three timepoints: start of preseason, end of preseason, and end of competition season. Sociodemographic information, sports nutrition knowledge (SNK), and risk of low energy availability (LEA) questionnaires were completed at the start of preseason. Results: Mean daily energy and carbohydrate (CHO) intakes were lower than recommendations across all seasons (p 80% of players did not meet minimum recommendations at each timepoint (all, p 21 km/h) efforts significantly increased across preseason and decreased during competition (all, p