Most elite archers have no professional nutritional support
2 studies · 251 archers measured
The summary today
A single questionnaire asks the question, and it says that professional support reaches a minority. In 2026 fifty-one elite archers from twenty-two countries report that 47 per cent have access to a sports nutritionist, 37 per cent receive advice from a qualified specialist and 27 per cent have their diet followed by an expert, while in 73 per cent of cases the federation takes no part in their nutrition. Two years earlier, among two hundred archers at the European youth championships, one in three followed a prescribed diet, but the study does not say prescribed by whom, and the figure remains a hint that does not count towards the status. The clearest contrast lies in perception: 80 per cent of the elite consider their diet healthy and 86 per cent feel they have enough energy all day. The picture stops there for two reasons. Everything is reported by those who chose to answer, and archers who reply to a questionnaire on nutrition may not resemble those who ignore it; and there is only one study.
Also phrased as: "nutritionist for archers"; "elite archers' diet"; "federations and athletes' nutrition"; "archers have no nutritionist"; "nutrition in archery"
In practice
In archery nutrition stays a personal matter: archers eat the way they always have, and a nutritionist is thought of as something for endurance sports, not for the shooting line.
Evidence
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2024
Context Archers Published later
200 archers aged 13-20 at the European youth championships, from 34 countries: 33% follow a prescribed diet (66 of 200, 32.3% of the girls and 33.7% of the boys), 54.5% have a yearly physical assessment (109 of 200). The paper does not say who prescribed the diet, so the figure remains a hint and does not count as a measure of professional support.
Injuries and Persistent Pain in Elite Adolescent Archery Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study · Nikolaos Vasilis, Athanasios Kyriakides, George Vasilopoulos, Maria Chatzitimotheou, Grigorios Gonidakis, Athanasios Kotsakis, et al.
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2026
For Archers Published later
51 elite archers from 22 countries, self-administered questionnaire: access to a sports nutritionist 47.1%, advice from a qualified specialist 37.3% (19), diet followed by an expert 27% (14), and in 73% of cases (37) the federation takes no part in their nutrition. 45% (23) have received a personalised meal plan at least once.
Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec
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2026
For Archers Published later
In the same sample perception runs the other way from support: 80.4% consider their diet healthy or proper and 86.3% feel they have enough energy all day, while only 31.4% (16) follow a particular diet and 27% have it checked by an expert.
Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec
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2026
Context Archers Published later
Those with access to a sports nutritionist have a narrower waist, 74.64 against 83.82 cm (p = 0.028), and train more, 5.25 against 3.41 hours a day (p < 0.001) and 5.46 against 4.70 days a week (p = 0.028). Weight, height and waist are reported by the archers themselves.
Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec
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2026
Context Archers Published later
Those whose federation takes care of their nutrition weigh 65.21 against 75.90 kg (p = 0.018), have a body mass index of 22.04 against 25.52 (p = 0.004) and train 6.64 against 3.38 hours a day (p < 0.001): federation support goes together with a much heavier training programme.
Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec
Status history
- 2024 Not studied The first figure is indirect and comes from the youngest archers. Two hundred archers aged 13 to 20, at the European youth championships and from thirty-four countries, answer an injury questionnaire that also asks about habits: one in three follows a prescribed diet, 66 out of 200, and just over half have a yearly physical assessment, 109 out of 200. The study does not say who prescribed the diet, however, and a prescribed diet is not the same as support from a professional: it is a hint, not an answer, and the question remains unstudied.
- 2026 Reported A questionnaire on fifty-one elite archers from twenty-two countries asks the question directly and gives the first figure for adults: 47 per cent have access to a sports nutritionist, 37 per cent receive advice from a qualified specialist, 27 per cent have their diet followed by an expert, and in 73 per cent of cases the federation takes no part in their nutrition. In the same sample 80 per cent consider their diet healthy and 86 per cent feel they have enough energy. It is the first study to ask the question, with figures reported by those who chose to answer: reported.
Related
Related articles
- How competitive archers eat: what shooting costs, how much protein they report, what they weigh and who advises themWhat competitive archers eat, how much protein they report, who advises them and what they weigh: what the studies have measured and where they stop.
- Hydration and nutrition on competition day in archery: a practical guideHow much to drink and what to eat on competition day in archery: what the day costs, what dehydration changes and what studies on archers have measured.
Research lines
Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.
See the work with clubs and federationsCite
Campagna, M. (2026). Most elite archers have no professional nutritional support (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/elite-archers-nutrition-support
@misc{campagna2026_supportonutrizionaleelite,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Most elite archers have no professional nutritional support},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/elite-archers-nutrition-support},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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