SWAP-MEAT Athlete: Three Diets on Athletic Performance

SWAP-MEAT (Study With Appetizing Plant-Food, Meat Eating Alternatives Trial) Athlete

This study aims to investigate the impact of two plant-based diets-whole food plant-based (WFPB) and plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA)-vs. an omnivorous diet (Animal) on endurance and muscular strength in recreational athletes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Diet order: WFPB, PBMA, Animal; Behavioral: WFPB, Animal, PBMA; Behavioral: PBMA, WFPB, Animal; Behavioral: PBMA, Animal, WFPB; Behavioral: Animal, WFPB, PBMA; Behavioral: Animal, PBMA, WFPB

Detailed Description

Plant-based diets are environmentally sustainable and beneficial for cardiovascular health, but athletes are often concerned that these diets do not contain enough protein to support athletic performance. However, few randomized trials investigating the effect of plant-based vs. omnivorous diets on athletic performance have been conducted. Within this randomized crossover trial, recreational runners and resistance trainers will be assigned to three diets for four weeks each (WFPB, PBMA, and Animal). PMBA is an emerging, modern type of plant-based diet for which the impact on athletic performance has not yet been assessed. Participants will complete athletic fields at baseline and after each diet, and athletic performance on diets and study feasibility in this cohort of recreational athletes will be assessed. The study design was inspired by the original SWAP-MEAT study that investigated cardiovascular risk factors in adults consuming 8-week omnivorous and plant-based meat alternative diets (Crimarco, 2020).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 24
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
      • Stanford University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Generally healthy omnivorous adults between 18 and 35 years of age who report typically consuming at least 1 serving of meat per day and are willing to consume ~2 servings per day of animal meat, plant-based meat alternatives, and whole-food plant proteins.
• Participants will have been consistent recreational runners or weightlifters (3-4 times per week) for at least the prior 1 year, and currently run or lift 3-4 times per week.
• Runners will engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. All participants will have habitually consumed an omnivorous diet for at least months.
• Participants will have self-reported good health and BMI 18.5-30.0.
• Participants must be able to commit to running or resistance training at least 3-4 times per week for the 12 week duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who have participated in any restrictive diet within the last month, have any known nutrient intolerances, have orthopedic limitations, are participating in any other physical activity or diet study;
• Individuals consuming any performance enhancing drugs or medications known to interfere with athletic performance;
• Individuals who have a chronic disease or eating disorder, are currently pregnant or intend to become pregnant in the next three months, or have an intent to compete in any physical activity competition within the next 3 months.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB); 2 meals/day of traditional plant proteins (tofu, quinoa, black beans) and minimized intake of processed food, eggs, and dairy	Behavioral: Diet order: WFPB, PBMA, Animal; Participants followed the WFPB, PBMA, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: WFPB, Animal, PBMA; Participants followed the WFPB, Animal, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: PBMA, WFPB, Animal; Participants followed the PBMA, WFPB, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: PBMA, Animal, WFPB; Participants followed the PBMA, Animal, and WFPB diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: Animal, WFPB, PBMA; Participants followed the Animal, WFPB, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: Animal, PBMA, WFPB; Participants followed the Animal, PBMA, and WFPB diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.
Experimental: Plant-Based Meat Alternatives (PBMA); 2 servings/day of plant-based meat alternatives (Beyond Beef, Impossible Burger, Gardein Chick'n)	Behavioral: Diet order: WFPB, PBMA, Animal; Participants followed the WFPB, PBMA, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: WFPB, Animal, PBMA; Participants followed the WFPB, Animal, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: PBMA, WFPB, Animal; Participants followed the PBMA, WFPB, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: PBMA, Animal, WFPB; Participants followed the PBMA, Animal, and WFPB diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: Animal, WFPB, PBMA; Participants followed the Animal, WFPB, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: Animal, PBMA, WFPB; Participants followed the Animal, PBMA, and WFPB diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.
Experimental: Animal; 2 servings/day of traditional meat products (beef burger, pork, chicken)	Behavioral: Diet order: WFPB, PBMA, Animal; Participants followed the WFPB, PBMA, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: WFPB, Animal, PBMA; Participants followed the WFPB, Animal, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: PBMA, WFPB, Animal; Participants followed the PBMA, WFPB, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: PBMA, Animal, WFPB; Participants followed the PBMA, Animal, and WFPB diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: Animal, WFPB, PBMA; Participants followed the Animal, WFPB, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.; Behavioral: Animal, PBMA, WFPB; Participants followed the Animal, PBMA, and WFPB diets (in this order) for 4 weeks each.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cooper 12-Minute Timed Run Test (Runners)	Change from baseline in distance covered on a 12-minute timed run after each diet phase	Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Composite Machine Strength Index (Resistance Trainers)	Change from baseline in composite machine strength index (sum of 3-rep max chest press, leg press, and lat pull-down) after each diet phase	Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Estimated VO2 max (Runners)	Change in VO2 max, estimated from training data compiled by Garmin Forerunner 235 after each diet phase	Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Maximum push-up and pull-up test	Change from baseline in maximum number of repetitions completed of push-up and pull-ups prior to exhaustion after each diet phase	Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Dietary intake and adherence	a. Nutrient composition of each diet and adherence to diet in servings of protein source consumed per week, via weekly dietary logs	Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Diet satisfaction	Score on Food Acceptability Questionnaire, measuring taste, appeal, and overall diet satisfaction, after each diet. We used the "Food Acceptability Questionnaire", with a minimum value of 1 and a maximum value of 7. A higher score indicates better food acceptability.	Week 4, Week 8, Week 12

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Stanford University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Roberts AK, Busque V, Robinson JL, Landry MJ, Gardner CD. SWAP-MEAT Athlete (study with appetizing plant-food, meat eating alternatives trial) - investigating the impact of three different diets on recreational athletic performance: a randomized crossover trial. Nutr J. 2022 Nov 16;21(1):69. doi: 10.1186/s12937-022-00820-x.

Helpful Links

• Study description and summary of results

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 26, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 3, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): October 3, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 21, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 21, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): July 25, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 21, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: endurance; muscular strength; plant-based diets; meat alternatives; omnivore diets
• Other Study ID Numbers: 59905

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No