Structure and trends of international sport nutrition research between 2000 and 2018: bibliometric mapping of sport nutrition science

BACKGROUND: The tool kits of bibliometrics and science mapping provide a standard methodology to map the knowledge base of specific fields of science. The aim of the present research is the analysis of the recent international trends of sport nutrition science, as well as the primary identification of the research topics and results of sport nutrition science via enhanced bibliometric methods for the 2000–2018 time period. METHODS: Altogether, 3889 publications were included in this study. We identified the most relevant sport nutrition topics by running a community detection algorithm on the proximity network constructed via network text analysis. The key issues and key concepts of sport nutrition topics as well as their relations were evaluated via network analysis. Besides, we carried a chronological analysis of topics out and a scientometric evaluative analysis was also created. RESULTS: We identified the four main basic groups from which the 18 most characteristics topics were analyzed. The 18 topics are the following: ‘soccer and physiology’, ‘carbohydrate metabolism’, ‘muscle physiology: alkalosis and acidosis’, ‘muscle mass gain and dietary supplementation’, ‘fluid balance and hydration’, ‘dietary intake and nutrition knowledge’, ‘determination of energy need of athletes’, ‘bone health and female athlete triad’, ‘hydration strategy’, ‘body weight management’, ‘nutritional strategies and human skeletal muscle’, ‘dietary supplementation of nitrates’, ‘oxidative stress and dietary supplement use’, ‘dietary supplement use and doping’, ‘oxidative stress and inflammation and dietary antioxidants’, ‘exercise adaptation and nutritional strategies’, ‘gut microbiota’, ‘celiac disease’. Regarding the size of the topic, researches on sport nutrition science have put the focus on the following three groups: ‘muscle mass gain and dietary supplementation’, ‘carbohydrate metabolism’, ‘oxidative stress and dietary supplement use’. The greatest scientific impact can be ascribed to the following topics: ‘nutritional strategies and human skeletal muscle’, ‘dietary supplementation of nitrates’, ‘body weight management’, and ‘gut microbiota’. CONCLUSIONS: Scientific output on sport nutrition has continuously been rising between 2000 and 2018. The ratio of topics related to sport nutrition but predominantly connected to basic research has decreased significantly within all publications. The results of this study confirm the role of science mapping in the identification of specific research topics and primary research directions in the field of sport nutrition science. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12970-021-00409-5.