improving their skills during hours of sport - specific practice is only the beginning of the training regimen that is necessary to be a successful student - athlete .
additional aspects of a student - athlete 's training regimen should include proper sports nutrition and effective strength training .
these two aspects can be overlooked , but they are extremely important factors student - athletes should incorporate into their training plans . typically , competitive athletes have two straightforward dietary goals which include eating to maximize performance and eating to obtain optimal body composition .
no specific eating regimen will directly increase strength , aerobic endurance , or power , but an adequate nutrient dense diet will allow athletes to train and compete to the best of their abilities .
the demands student - athletes place upon their bodies during sport - specific and non - sport - specific training need to be balanced with proper nutrition , especially for females in endurance sports who could be at risk of female athlete triad .
the importance of eating a nutrient dense diet is often times not emphasized enough to student - athletes by the professional staff who have the most contact with them : team coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletic trainers .
although some larger universities may employ a full - time or part - time registered dietitian ( rd ) or board certified specialist in sports dietitian ( cssd ) , these professionals are only available at approximately 10% of collegiate athletic departments .
there is no comprehensive nutrition education program for athletes mandated by the national collegiate athletic association ( ncaa ) similar to other required academic support and life skills programs [ 3 , 4 ] .
student - athletes need to develop healthy eating habits in order to maintain body weight and health while maximizing training effects .
athletes may not even have knowledge of basic nutrition concepts such that fruits and vegetables are good sources of carbohydrates in addition to grains .
as student - athletes enter the collegiate setting , coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletic trainers may wish to assess the student - athlete 's knowledge about sports nutrition if a dietitian is not available . obtaining
this information will allow these professionals to focus on areas which need improvement and potentially make referrals .
due to the demands placed on the student - athletes in sport - specific and non - sport - specific training , education about how to achieve an optimal energy balance is key in order for the student - athletes to perform at their highest level .
student - athletes often rely on team coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletics trainers for sports nutrition knowledge .
however , studies have examined the nutrition knowledge of these professionals that indicated they may not be the best source for the student - athletes [ 3 , 6 , 7 ] . torres - mcgehee et al
. studied 579 student - athletes , coaches , athletic trainers , and strength and conditioning coaches to examine sports nutrition knowledge on a questionnaire they developed .
adequate sports nutrition knowledge was determined if the participant obtained an overall score of at least 75% in all domains .
athletic trainers and strength and conditioning specialists had the highest average scores of 77.8% and 81.6% , respectively , which were higher than the team coaches and the student - athletes .
rockwell et al . assessed the nutrition knowledge , opinions , and practices of 53 coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletic trainers at a division i university .
strength and conditioning specialists scored significantly more correct answers at 80% compared to team coaches at 62% and athletic trainers at 66% .
coaches who worked with female athletes or both male and female athletes and coaches with at least 15 years ' experience gave more correct responses . not only should the student - athletes be tested on nutrition knowledge and behaviors , but the coaching staff and other professionals who work closely with them should also be studied to ensure the student - athletes are receiving correct and current sports nutrition education , especially if there is no dietitian .
there is a history of student - athletes reporting low sports nutrition knowledge , though findings are mixed due to differences in populations and instrumentation . as far back as 1992 ,
jacobson and aldana found only 26.7% of 812 division i student - athletes could correctly identify fat - soluble vitamins and 50% knew correct functions of protein , but 85% could identify carbohydrates as an immediate energy source .
these participants indicated their sources of nutrition knowledge were magazines , athletic trainers , friends , and coursework .
the internet can also be a reference for sports nutrition knowledge [ 8 , 10 ] but may contain inaccurate information from questionable sources . a follow - up to the 2001 study   with 330 student - athletes found lower sports nutrition knowledge in that only 29% could identify correct carbohydrate recommendations while even fewer could correctly identify fat and protein recommendations .
female student - athletes reported receiving their sports nutrition knowledge from coursework and nutrition professionals , while male student - athletes indicated strength and conditioning specialists and athletic trainers were their primary sources .
in the 185 student - athletes out of the 579 participants studied by torres - mcgehee et al .
they found only 9% of the student - athletes had adequate sports nutrition knowledge on their questionnaire with a score > 75% . for their primary and secondary source of sports nutrition knowledge ,
the student - athletes reported strength and conditioning specialists to be the highest and then parents and athletic trainers , but not registered dietitians . in looking at sports nutrition knowledge in specific teams , hornstrom et al . studied nutrition knowledge , choices , and practices in 185 collegiate conference softball players
the sports nutrition knowledge mean score on their questionnaire was only 45.7 ( 4.7 ) out of 80 points or 57.1% .
the lower the sports nutrition knowledge scores were , the more the athletes reported poorer eating behaviors .
the softball players were most likely to contact a physician to obtain nutrition knowledge , followed by an athletic trainer , college courses , and then a dietitian .
zawila et al . assessed sports nutrition knowledge and attitudes of 60 female collegiate cross - country runners in two midwest states .
questions covered topic areas of carbohydrates , protein , fats , calcium , iron , vitamins , minerals , functional foods , vegetables , health benefits of foods , hydration , nutrition for athletes and weight loss , and the runner 's attitudes towards nutrition .
student - athletes who took a nutrition course scored higher , and those who prepared their own food also scored higher .
there were no differences between division i , ii , or iii universities or between the two states .
sources of sports nutrition knowledge were magazines , parents , coaches , and teammates with only 17% choosing an athletic trainer .
it is possible for student - athletes to improve their nutrition knowledge and behavior , although the linking of both of these concepts is complex , and the relationship is somewhat weak at r = 0.44 .
there are influences from the coach , family , friends , internet , culture , and religion , as well as issues with study design , participants , comparison populations or lack thereof , and instrumentation .
nascimento et al . found that providing four individualized counseling sessions lasting 4560 minutes combined with one lecture over an 8-month period improved knowledge , behaviors , and lean body mass in adults and adolescent athletes .
there also exists the potential for face - to - face or online coursework that could be offered to improve student - athletes ' sports nutrition knowledge and behavior [ 3 , 4 ] .
student - athletes need to understand basic sports nutrition concepts in order to maintain body weight and health while also maximizing training effects .
gaining this knowledge needs to be balanced with their practice and competition schedule , academic coursework , personal preferences , cultural and religious influences , and motivation for behavior change .
however , the first step could be basic nutrition knowledge and then followed by behaviors in order to set up some sort of counseling or educational program .
the purpose of this study was to determine the sports nutrition knowledge of student - athletes at a mid - major division i university across sex , class level , team , and prior nutrition coursework .
the participants for this study were 123 student - athletes from a mid - major division i university in the southeastern united states .
predetermined groups based on sport , class level , and sex were generated for convenience .
a total of 10 individual and team sports were asked to participate in the study .
coaches were contacted from men 's and women 's soccer , men 's and women 's basketball , men 's and women 's track and field , men 's and women 's tennis , baseball , and softball .
out of the 10 teams contacted , 7 coaches agreed to participation from baseball , men 's and women 's tennis , men 's and women 's track and field , men 's soccer , and softball .
the participants did not have access to a registered dietitian or board certified sports dietitian .
they examined the sports nutrition knowledge and sources of knowledge from 579 student - athletes and coaching staff members among division i , ii , and iii universities .
twelve professionals established the construct validity by providing feedback on the questions with respect to their fields of study .
initially the instrument included 50 questions but was revised based on recommendations from the panel .
a pilot study was conducted on student - athletes and coaching staff members to obtain additional feedback before they administered the question to the larger sample . in the present study ,
three questions pertained to the student - athlete 's demographic information : sex , class rank , and sport .
the remaining 16 sports nutrition questions were completed using multiple choice answers including prior nutrition coursework .
the recommended guideline for safe and healthy weight loss is :  and  from a sports performance perspective , which is the most significant and/or detrimental dietary deficiency ? 
the sports nutrition question responses were graded to determine the student - athlete 's sports nutrition knowledge score .
adequate sports nutrition knowledge was obtained when the student - athletes achieved an overall score of at least 75% out of 100% .
permission was given by the athletic department and the head coaches prior to beginning this study .
the university 's institutional review board ( irb ) granted approval to conduct the study .
the student - athletes were read a script and given a letter explaining the purpose of the study and requesting voluntary participation .
the participants were informed about the option to skip questions or leave the study at any time without penalty .
student - athletes completed informed consent forms and then were given the surveys in hard copy .
all data were entered into and analyzed by spss version 22.0 ( ibm corporation , armonk , ny , 2013 ) .
independent t - tests were used to calculate differences in sports nutrition knowledge scores between males and females , upperclassmen ( juniors and seniors ) and lowerclassmen ( freshmen and sophomores ) , and completion of a nutrition course . to test differences in scores between class rank and teams ,
adequate sports nutrition knowledge was obtained when the student - athletes achieved an overall score of at least 75% out of 100% .
the overall mean sports nutrition knowledge score for all student - athletes was 56.9% ( 14.3 ) . only 12 student - athletes achieved an adequate sports nutrition knowledge score of 75% or higher with a mean score of 82% ( 5.0 ) .
the 111 student - athletes who obtained an inadequate sports nutrition knowledge score had a mean score of 54% ( 12.1 ) .
an independent t - test was used to determine the mean scores of the female student - athletes ( n = 47 ) and male student - athletes ( n = 76 ) . neither sex achieved adequate sports nutrition knowledge scores with female student - athletes scoring 56.5 ( 13.2 ) and the male student - athletes scoring 57.1 ( 14.9 ) .
no difference was found between male and female student - athletes ' sports nutrition knowledge scores : t(121 ) = 0.243 and p = 0.446 . in order to compare the sports nutrition knowledge by class rank and by upperclassmen versus lowerclassmen ( n = 73 ) ,
there were no differences by each class rank ( f(4,118 ) = 0.062 , p = 0.993 ) . when divided into upperclassmen ( juniors and seniors , n = 50 ) and lowerclassmen ( freshmen and sophomores , n = 73 ) mean scores still were not different at 56.9 ( 14.8 ) and 56.8 ( 14.0 ) , respectively , on the sports nutrition knowledge questionnaire ( t(121 ) = 0.061 , p = 0.952 ) .
a one - way anova was used to compare the mean scores of the sports nutrition questionnaire between sport teams , but no significance was found ( f(4,118 ) = 0.414 , p = 0.798 ) .
all teams had inadequate sports nutrition knowledge . when comparing the student - athlete sports nutrition knowledge between those who had previously taken a nutrition course ( n = 59 ) and those who had never taken a nutrition course ( n = 64 ) , the means were not different , 55.6% ( 15.0 ) compared to 58.1% ( 13.4 ) respectively , t(121 ) = 0.976 , and p = 0.334 .
only 12 student - athletes out of 123 participants scored above 75% on the sports nutrition questionnaire .
the overwhelming absence of sports nutrition knowledge appears to reflect the lack emphasis on nutrition from the coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletic trainers within the athletics department .
the strength and conditioning specialists and athletic trainers had adequate sports nutrition knowledge with scores of 81.6% and 77.8% , respectively , and were higher than the team coaches ( 65.9% ) . the student - athletes scores ( 54.9% ) in their study were comparable to the student - athletes in the current study at 56.9% . on the other hand , rockwell et al . found that coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletic trainers did not demonstrate high sports nutrition knowledge on their survey .
torres - mcgehee et al . concluded that coaches , strength and conditioning specialists , and athletic trainers could include sports nutrition in their continuing education , but to defer to registered dietitians for areas that are beyond their scope of practice .
although the sports nutrition knowledge of the coaching staff was not determined in the current study and could be explored in future research , it is likely that sports nutrition knowledge is not being conveyed to the student - athletes .
there was no registered dietitian or sports dietitian available to the student - athletes , even on a consulting basis .
torres - mcgehee et al . reported 58.2% of their sample had some access to a registered dietitian , but only about half of these were full or part - time staff within their athletics department .
contracting the services of a registered sports dietitian in the athletic department would take the responsibility of teaching sports nutrition to the student - athletes off the other members of the coaching , strength and conditioning , and athletic training staff so they can focus on sport - specific practice , conditioning , and injuries .
the dietitian could perform individualized or small group counseling or help develop nutrition courses specific for the athletes . taking
it is possible the student - athletes did not retain the information they were taught , or they do not have the motivation or encouragement to focus on the nutrition component of their own sport and performance .
zawila et al . found in their sample of female distance runners that those participants who took a course scored higher on nutrition knowledge .
distance running is a sport where body weight and nutrition are likely more of a focus , so athletes may be more motivated to increase their sports nutrition knowledge .
. also found that individual consultations combined with a lecture improved athletes ' nutrition knowledge along with their nutrition .
there is potential to deliver tailored for - credit courses to athletes either face - to - face in a classroom setting or in an online format .
however , the additional time burden to athletes would need to be considered [ 3 , 4 ] . the upperclassmen ( n = 50 ) also failed to score higher on the sports nutrition knowledge questionnaire .
research conducted by hornstrom et al . found similar results when comparing nutrition knowledge scores of softball players with no differences in scores between class years .
the years of experience in a college setting do not seem to have an effect on the amount of sports nutrition knowledge in student - athletes .
if a student - athlete is not particularly interested and motivated to improve nutrition , any knowledge gained may not be sustained through the collegiate competition years .
furthermore , it is challenging to make associations with previous studies due to inconsistencies in sample sizes , lack of comparison or control groups , and inconsistent instrumentation and interventions .
these study findings open up an area for more research to be conducted about the effects of sports nutrition knowledge and from which professionals student - athletes obtain their knowledge .
future research could include student - athletes ' knowledge and behaviors in sport - specific recommendations , pre- and postworkout and competition meals , and foods eaten at campus dining , in residence halls , and in social situations since previous studies using these methods have demonstrated improvements in both knowledge and improved nutrition choices [ 4 , 10 ] . future research may wish to examine sports nutrition knowledge for specific populations such as sports that require competition at reduced body weight such as wrestling , track and field , gymnastics , or cross - country .
assessing sports nutrition knowledge and how particular athletes focus on proper nutrition could lead to better comparisons across sports within a college or university .
the effort student - athletes apply to sport - specific on - the - field practice or weight room training should be complemented with a quality nutrition program to provide student - athletes with the best opportunity for peak performance .
student - athletes attempting to perform without quality nutrition could potentially be at nutrition risk and at a disadvantage in competition . providing student - athletes with nutrition counseling
should allow for improved performance and allow them to maintain energy levels and lean body mass during the competition season and off - season conditioning .
although the strength and conditioning and coaching staffs oversee training and sport - specific practice at smaller division i schools , particularly those without football programs , they should not be the professionals relied upon to address the sports nutrition knowledge lacking in the student - athletes .
the addition of a board certification specialist in sports dietitian ( cssd ) or at a minimum a registered dietitian , even on a consulting basis , would be a recommendation to the athletic department .
the ccsd can partner with coaches and other athletics and medical staff , and he / she can work directly with athletes on an individual consulting basis and/or in some sort of small group educational setting .
universities may also wish to explore some sort of nutrition education course for student - athletes , which can be delivered in a face - to - face or online format .
 competitive athletes have goals to optimize performance and to maintain healthy body composition . 
 sports nutrition is a component of training programs often overlooked by student - athletes and their coaches . 
 the purpose of this study was to examine student - athletes ' sports nutrition knowledge across sex , class level , team , and completion of prior nutrition coursework . 
 participants included 123 mid - major division i university student - athletes ( 47 females and 76 males ) from baseball , softball , men 's soccer , track and field , and tennis . 
 the student - athletes completed a survey questionnaire to determine adequate sports nutrition knowledge ( mean  75% ) . 
 the overall mean sports nutrition knowledge score for the student - athletes was 56.9% which was considered inadequate sports nutrition knowledge ( mean < 75% ) . only 12 student - athletes achieved adequate sports nutrition knowledge score of 75% or higher . 
 there were no differences by sex , class level , team , and completion of prior nutrition coursework . 
 student - athletes ' inadequate sports nutrition knowledge may place them at nutrition risk , lead to impaired performance , and affect their lean body mass and energy levels . 
 athletics personnel should not assume student - athletes have adequate sports nutrition knowledge . 
 athletic departments may make available a board certified sports dietitian or registered dietitian and offer classroom or online courses facilitating student - athletes to optimize nutrition knowledge and behaviors . 
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions