Introduction: Adolescence marks a critical period of physical and cognitive development. By identifying effective strategies for enhancing athletes' nutritional literacy and dietary behaviours, this study aims to contribute valuable insights that can inform evidence-based interventions and training protocols.

Aim: To study the effectiveness of nutrition education programs on nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, body composition, fitness, and performance in mallakhamb athletes.

Methodology: A quasi-experimental research design was used and a sample size of 50 Mallakhamb athletes were recruited from sports academies in Mumbai. The nutrition education program was implemented in 6 weeks in 3 sessions. The parameters measured were nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, body composition, fitness, and performance pre- and post-intervention. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 for Windows (version 25, 2017, IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York, United States).

Result: The mean age of the adolescent athlete was 12.3 years. Mallakhamb athletes initially reported low consumption of energy, carbohydrates (CHO), protein, fiber, and essential micronutrients like calcium and iron. Post-intervention, there was a significant increase in their intake of protein (p= 0.028), fiber (p= 0.001), calcium (p= 0.001), and iron (p=0.001). Nutrition knowledge was low initially but the results showed significant improvement post-intervention (p=0.001). While the total fluid intake did not show significant improvement, fluid intake during training increased significantly post-intervention (p= 0.001). There was also significant improvement in muscular endurance (p=0.003) and power (p=0.013).

Conclusion: The nutrition education program produced significant improvement in nutritional knowledge, dietary intake, and performance in Mallakhamb athletes. Therefore an effective nutrition education program may improve athletes' dietary intake and nutritional status and enhance athletic performance.