Sports Nutrition Knowledge: Does Sex or Class Rank of Division II Athletes Make a Difference?

Abstract

Nutrition is an aspect of game and practice preparation that is commonly overlooked by many athletes, even those who are highly competitive. There were two primary purposes of this study.  One, was to investigate the differences in nutrition knowledge between the sexes who play the same sport. Two, to identify if there is a difference in nutrition knowledge between upper and lowerclassmen.  The study included 145 student-athletes from six different sports that included both sexes.  All participants completed a 16-question survey to determine their sports nutrition knowledge, with satisfactory knowledge at or greater than 75% correct. The overall mean sports nutrition knowledge for the student-athletes was 55.3%.  Only 21 of the 145 student-athletes had satisfactory scores.  Significant differences were found between the upper and lower classmen but no statistical differences between the sexes of the same sport, with the exception of one sport.  Possible reasons are offered as to why there were not more noticeable differences within these groups.