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Do student athletes know how to properly use nutrition as fuel? New research

The researchers had one overarching question: Are student athletes being taught the important basics of nutrition?

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teenage football team high school athlete
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Our teenage years are an interesting time, and I remember that I definitely wasn’t thinking about optimizing my nutrition during adolescence. At all stages of life, the right nutrition can make a difference to your physical fitness level. Consuming a healthier diet with nutrients, vitamins, and protein has been proven to improve athletic performance.

Recently, researchers explored teenagers’ knowledge of proper nutrition and how much high school athletes really know about eating right and using food as fuel. 

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The study

balanced healthy meal in bowl
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The researchers had one overarching question: Are students being taught the important basics of nutrition? In a study in the Journal Nutrients, 44 teenage student athletes filled out a questionnaire designed to determine general nutrition knowledge and eating for athletic competition. 

The results

La Crosse high school player
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The Abridged Sports Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire was telling and revealed that teen athletes have a significant lack of knowledge about nutrition facts. Having this knowledge could help athletes enhance performance and recovery.

Researchers reported that the teen athletes had a surprisingly low level of general nutrition and sports nutrition knowledge, and they weren’t sure how to eat a balanced diet for health. Notably, the teens didn’t know much about the key nutrients needed to effectively compete and optimize fitness. 

teenage athlete on field wearing helmet
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Here are the details:

  • Students only got around 45% of the answers right overall.
  • Students scored 58% on the general nutrition knowledge.
  • They scored 35% on sports nutrition. 
  • 41% of athletes surveyed said their sports organizations didn’t provide access to a nutritionist, dietitian, or nutritional information to guide eating choices. 
  • Athletes mostly turned to their family, friends, or coaches to help them understand food choices.
  • At 37%, the most common barrier to healthy eating was a lack of knowledge about nutrition.
  • The next biggest barrier was a lack of energy or motivation at 34%.

Concluding thoughts

high school teenager on field drinking carton
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The researchers pointed to the excess of social media and how teens are inundated with conflicting information. One of the major takeaways from this research is the need to increase general nutrition education and sports-specific nutrition information and guidance in sports organizations and schools. 

As a nutrition and science writer, I’ve previously spoken as a guest lecturer to high school classes, and I can honestly say most of the students were genuinely interested in hearing more about nutrition. They wanted to ask questions and learn how to maintain a healthy weight, be healthier in general, and boost their fitness, which is pretty encouraging.

Steph Green
Steph Green
Steph Green (Steph Zee) is a singer-songwriter and professional writer with over 12 years of experience in healthcare and…
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