Performance Nutrition – an academic journal dedicated to understanding the role of nutrition to support performance throughout the life course

It is with great pleasure that I write this Editorial signalling the launch of Performance Nutrition—an academic journal dedicated to understanding the role of nutrition to support performance throughout the life course. This Editorial will briefly outline how this journal has come to being, why I decided to get involved, and how I think in publishing high-quality articles the journal can develop and strengthen the reach of your research and its credibility and impact within this emerging field of Performance Nutrition.

The role of diet in the pursuit of optimal athletic outcomes is the most obvious start point for performance nutrition. Indeed, the field of “sports nutrition” is thriving as a research discipline, profession and industry, evidenced by its acknowledgment in one of the world’s top academic journals [1]. Allied to this is an increasing understanding of the importance of nutrition for the “tactical athlete” (e.g., military, law enforcement, firefighters, emergency responders) who face physical and cognitive occupational challenges, often in challenging environmental conditions [2]. In other populations, such as in older age, recovery or rehabilitation from illness, injury or surgery, maintenance or restoration of functional capacity becomes the priority, with nutrition increasingly considered to play an important role [3,4,5]. Nutrition and in particular specific dietary-derived compounds have long been known to impact upon cognitive function [6]. This may have relevance for many contexts, ranging from concentration for academic outcomes or office work through to activities that require fine motor skills. This journal, Performance Nutrition, was conceived from an acknowledgement of the diversity and growth of research on the impacts of nutrition on human performance, and a desire to bring high-quality research in this area “under one roof”. My hope is that this journal can become an "information hub" for researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders dedicated to understanding the role of nutrition to support performance throughout the life course.

In accepting the role of Editor-in-Chief for Performance Nutrition I was influenced by several factors. The first factor, as alluded to above, was the concept and potential for a single “home” to bring together research in this area. Importantly, I feel the journal can contribute to the identity of Performance Nutrition as a field which encompasses and expands beyond the traditional boundaries of “sports” to reflect what is happening in the real world. That is, in whatever walk of life, people are relying on and using nutrition to help improve or maintain their performance. The second factor was my own experiences in co-authoring articles submitted to journals hosted by BioMedCentral  [7, 8]. These experiences were overwhelmingly positive, and I particularly liked the transparent peer-review process which, as well as when an article is published can serve as a useful educational tool, I feel really helps to promote a fair and objective assessment of the research. A further factor in accepting the role was the opportunity to bring together and work with a diverse Editorial Board. I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm shown in establishing the board, and with the range of experiences and expertise that exists I am convinced we are well-placed to steward the development of Performance Nutrition.

When a new journal comes along it is natural to ask why we should submit our work there. Reflecting on some of my early emails to potential Editorial Board members I emphasised that I hoped Performance Nutrition could become a place where colleagues think of for publishing, gains good credibility as a journal that focusses on high-quality work, and contributes to the sustainability of the field. We always have choices on where to publish, but credibility, and visibility such that take up of the research by others have always been important to me. With the quality and commitment of our Editorial Board, the fair and transparent process of peer-review, and open-access nature of the journal I feel reassured that my hopes for the journal will be realised. If this resonates with you, then I would encourage you to consider submitting your relevant research. For articles submitted in 2024 and 2025, Performance Nutrition has article processing charge waivers available to offer that can be requested upon submission and allocated on acceptance. You can find out more about that here. On a pragmatic level our focus is on Performance Nutrition but I hope it is clear from this Editorial that we see this covering a breadth of contexts and methodological approaches. Indeed, we will welcome a variety of article types, from research articles, brief reports, reviews right through to case-studies, reflecting the wide range of research activity in the field. If you are unsure if your article is a good fit, please do make contact as we are more than happy to discuss these matters with you. As we start on this journey we want to keep you informed of the new research we are publishing, so I’d also encourage you to sign up for article alerts.