(65) COMPARING SPORTS NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE, PERCEIVED DIETARY INTAKE, AND BODY COMPOSITION MEASUREMENTS IN MALE AND FEMALE DIVISION II COLLEGIATE ATHLETES

Abstract Details:

Purpose: To compare student-athletes’ nutritional knowledge and perceived dietary intake to their measured body composition.

Methods: Participants included 40 male and female Division II collegiate athletes (soccer, basketball, track and field, softball, and volleyball) (age: 22 ± 2 years). Body composition was assessed using Bio-Electrical Impedance Analysis. Participants completed a validated abridged nutrition sport knowledge questionnaire, consisting of 51 questions to assess demographic information, general nutrition knowledge, and sports nutrition knowledge, and a perceived dietary requirements questionnaire, including perceptions of one day of macronutrient and energy intake, through online questionnaires using Qualtrics.

Results: The athletes answered 15.2 ± 4% of the questions correctly with no differences observed between the sexes (females: 15.2 ± 3.7% vs. males: 15.2 ± 4.9%; p = 0.99). One-way ANOVA revealed no differences between each of the sports’ teams and their quiz scores (F _(6,31) = 0.852, p = 0.540). There were no correlations between quiz scores and fat mass (r = 0.16, p = 0.32), fat free mass (r = 0.14, p = 0.41), or body fat percentage (r = 0.06, p = 0.76). A difference was found between the athletes measured and perceived body fat percentages (measured = 24.4 ± 7.5%, perceived = 20.4 ± 11.3%; p = 0.02).

Conclusions: Division II collegiate athletes have a low level of sports nutrition knowledge and there is no significant relationship between nutritional knowledge and body composition outcomes. Furthermore, athletes significantly underestimate their actual body fat percentage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The results of the present study suggest that athletes might benefit from sports nutrition education. Additionally, the results suggest that body fat percentage goals should be determined through body composition testing, rather than perceptions of body fat percentages.

Acknowledgements: None