Graduation Term

2022

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Committee Chair

Jennifer Barnes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure athlete’s knowledge on pre- and post-workout nutrition, specifically assessing their macronutrient intake. Nutrition education for collegiate athletes has been a popular topic of discussion for years. Illinois State University athletes participated in the study by completing a pre- and post- sports nutrition survey which consisted of 29 questions. This survey regarding nutrition knowledge specifically included questions based off their pre-workout intake, recovery, as well as behavior-related questions based off a 1-7 Likert Scale (one being disagree and seven being agree).

A total of 40 participants completed both the pre- and post-assessment surveys. A total of 12 text messages were sent during the 4-week intervention phase, with 3 text messages sent per week. This was administered via Microsoft Teams app utilizing a third party. The text messages included educational information regarding: sources of carbohydrates; importance of carbohydrate consumption before training; sources of protein; and the importance of a carbohydrate-protein mixture consumption for recovery.

The test revealed that the nutrition-knowledge scores numerically increased from a mean of 17.49 (SD = 2.106) on the pre-test to a mean of 18.03 (SD = 2.189) on the post-test. The difference between the two means was not statistically significant at the .05 level (p = .156). A dependent t-test was also completed for the nutrition behavior questionnaire between the pre- and post-assessment survey. The test revealed that the nutrition-behavior scores numerically increased from a mean of 69.54 (SD = 8.410) on the pre-test to a mean of 71.74 (SD = 9.214) on the post-test. The difference between the two means was not statistically significant (p = .177).

This study revealed an increase in nutrition knowledge and nutrition behavior due to the text-message based intervention, although the increase from the pre-assessment survey to the post-assessment was not significant. Future research should focus on the effectiveness of the length and frequency of the text message intervention, as well as investigate the athletes’ willingness to change dietary behaviors based on various time increments.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2022.20220705065055410569.999956

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