Assessment of sports nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, and nutrition information source in female collegiate athletes: A descriptive feasibility study

Abstract

Objective: This descriptive feasibility study aimed to assess dietary intake, sports nutrition knowledge, and nutrition information source in collegiate athletes. Participants: Fourteen indoor volleyball female collegiate athletes from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university. Methods: Participants completed a Nutrition for Sports Knowledge Questionnaire (NSKQ) once and dietary and body composition assessments over four time points. Results: Pre-season mean energy and carbohydrate intake were lower than the American College of Sports Medicine Recommendations (25 ± 6.4 vs 37–41 kcal/kg BW/day and 3 ± 0.9 vs 6–10 g/kg BW/day; respectively). Off-season carbohydrate intake followed similar trends. The average score on the NSKQ was 45 ± 9.6% out of 100. Athletic trainers were identified as a top nutrition source followed by strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists. Conclusion: Female volleyball athletes have inadequate dietary intake and sports nutrition knowledge and may benefit from nutrition education and counseling by trained sports nutrition experts.

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1987919

Keywords:

• Body composition
• collegiate athletes
• dietary intake
• sports nutrition knowledge
• volleyball players

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the USA and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Georgia State University.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.