Becky Paul

NUIP 2250

Angie Hasemann Bayliss

04/17/2024
Nutrition for Collegiate Athletes

In the future, when I am working as a nurse, my goal is to work as a sports medicine

nurse practitioner. Ideally, I would like to work in college athletics. In this field, most athletes

workout every day of the week and are trying to build muscle to play better in their respective

sports so they have a high energy expenditure. Due to this, one of the primary nutrition concerns

for collegiate athletes is their caloric intake– they need to be consuming enough calories to meet

their energy needs and support performance and recovery. They need to be getting enough

macronutrients because each one is important for various reasons. Carbohydrates are essential

for quick energy and during exercise, proteins are important for muscle repair and growth, and

fats are necessary for energy production. Along with their macronutrients, comes the need for the

proper micronutrients. Calcium and vitamin D are both essential for bone health and iron is used

for oxygen delivery to the tissues in the body. Not only are macronutrients and micronutrients

important, but hydration plays a huge factor in an athlete’s performance. Athletes must be

drinking enough water before, during, and after exercise to improve energy and health. Finally,

another nutritional concern for collegiate athletes is recovery nutrition because proper nutrition

after vigorous exercise or training is important for muscle recovery and glycogen replenishment.

When developing my nutrition questionnaire for college athletes, I took all the previously

listed nutritional concerns into consideration. The first question on my nutrition questionnaire

was: 1. How would you describe your current eating habits? (Typical appetite, types of food,

frequency of meals, dietary restrictions, etc). I asked this question first because I wanted the
individuals I was interviewing to be able to give me their personal view of their daily nutrition. I

did not want to ask anything specific to start off the interview because that may make certain

choices seem good or bad and I wanted to get an unbiased answer of what their eating habits

looked like. The second question was: 2. In an average week, how many hours do you exercise?

What types of exercise? This question was included because as collegiate athletes, these

individuals are engaging in a lot of physical activity so I wanted to find out exactly how much

and the types of exercise, whether strength training, aerobic, yoga, or any other types. This tells a

little bit more about what their nutrition may look like based on the types of activity they are

doing. For example, if the athlete is focusing on strength training they may be consuming more

protein-rich foods to aid with that but if they are doing frequent aerobic exercise they may eat a

higher level of carbs. The next question on my questionnaire was: 3. What is your daily water

intake on average? I asked this question because hydration is extremely important for collegiate

athletes due to the high level of physical activity they engage in. Therefore, it is important to

know how much water each individual is drinking daily to make sure that they are receiving the

correct amount. The fourth question on my questionnaire was: 4. Do you take any supplements?

The purpose of this question was to ask if the athletes were consuming protein powders,

vitamins, minerals, etc. because a lot of athletes rely on supplements in order to get all the

necessary micronutrients and macronutrients due to the large demand for them in their bodies.

Question five on my questionnaire was: 5. What are your typical pre-workout and post-workout

snacks/meals? This was an important question to include because as I learned in my preliminary

research about athlete nutrition, pre-workout and post-workout nutrition is critical for athletic

performance. Pre-workout snacks are necessary for energy during exercise and post-workout

snacks are used for muscle repair and growth. Because of this, I was curious to see what these
snacks look like for a typical athlete to learn if most athletes get their proper nutrients throughout

the day. The final question of my questionnaire was: 6. How often do you eat fast food/go to a

restaurant? How often do you consume sugary beverages? This question was included because

there must be a good balance of eating nutritious, nutrient-dense food but also satisfying cravings

in an athlete’s day-to-day life. I asked this question because I wanted to know how often the

athletes I was interviewing allowed themselves to eat out because while fast food can be high in

unhealthy fats, sugar, and sodium, it is important for them to also be finding a balance in their

diet.

For my case study, I interviewed two female D1 gymnasts at the University of Illinois

Urbana-Champaign – Mareli Muller and Lyden Saltness. When I asked them the first question

about describing their eating habits, both girls said that they typically eat three meals a day along

with snacks before and after practice. Their meals usually consist of dining hall food (since they

are both freshmen) with occasional restaurant food. Mareli said that her appetite fluctuates

day-to-day; however, Lyden said she had a consistent average appetite, allowing herself to eat

whenever she is hungry. Their answers to this question were expected in my opinion because as a

fellow first-year, I understand the difficulties with having a good diet when the only option

usually is dining hall food. I was happy to hear that they both eat three meals a day and snacks

because as athletes, this is crucial for their bodies. Overall, I would say that their answer to the

first question of the questionnaire was healthy and reasonable. When asked the second question,

the girls reported that they exercise around 30 hours per week. Their exercise consists of strength

training at the gym to build muscle, some cardio for endurance during routines, and during

practice they work on gymnastics skills. This surprised me a little because I had not realized how

many hours they train for their sport and it led me to think about what kinds of nutrients they
would need to replenish their bodies after such vigorous exercise. When I asked Mareli and

Lyden what their daily water intake was, both girls admitted that they did not drink a lot of water.

Mareli estimated that she drank about 32 oz of water per day and Lyden said that her average

daily water intake was under 40 oz. Hearing this alarmed me because after learning how much

exercise and training they complete per day, their daily water intake should be much higher in

order to keep their bodies hydrated. I realized that they should be drinking at least double what

they are drinking right now especially because of the high level of physical activity they

participate in. The next question I asked them was about supplements. Lyden reported that she

did not take any supplements besides occasional Vitamin C. Mareli said that she takes a women’s

multivitamin every morning that consists of supplements such as Vitamin D, Vitamin E,

Calcium, Folate, Magnesium, Vitamin B12, Iron, etc. Their answers were not concerning to me

because supplements are taken based on individual need and some individuals need to take them

and others do not, which is why I did not find it unusual that Lyden did not take supplements and

Mareli did even though they are both collegiate athletes. Furthermore, when I asked them about

their pre/post workout snacks Lyden said that she usually eats a Cliff bar before practices and

after practice she eats a protein bar or protein shake. Mareli’s pre workout snacks usually consist

of bananas, peanut butter, or granola bars. She said that after practice or exercise she usually eats

a meal but if she’s not eating a meal then she has hummus and pita, a protein bar, or a smoothie.

Their answers to this question were not concerning at all actually because this is exactly what a

collegiate athlete should be eating before and after training. Fueling with carbs before a workout

for energy and protein after for replenishment and rebuilding is important and both girls are

doing exactly that. The final question was about their fast food/restaurant food intake along with

sugary beverages. Lyden said that she eats out an average of four times per week and drinks a
sugary beverage about 5 times per week (juice, gatorade, soda, etc.). Mareli explained that she

eats out around 3 times a week for meals but more often grabs snacks from fast food places. She

drinks sugary beverages around 4 times per week, she said. While their fast food/restaurant food

intake is a bit higher than expected for a collegiate athlete, I also had to take into consideration

that they are freshmen athletes meaning they do not have a means of cooking food on their own

for the most part. This means that dining hall and outside food are the main options.

Overall, after interviewing Mareli and Lyden, I believe that most of their answers were as

expected. There were no major concerns besides their water intake and both girls do a very good

job maintaining balanced, healthy nutrition. They both fuel their bodies with the proper nutrients

and are not overworking their bodies. However, despite Mareli and Lyden’s balanced diet and

lifestyle, many collegiate athletes have poor nutritional choices. One of my major concerns for

future patients is the reduced access to proper food because of the busy lifestyle of collegiate

athletes. It may be hard for these individuals to find the time to prepare food with the proper

nutrients because of their commitments to practice, competitions, school, social lives, etc. I

believe that one possible way to address this concern is by encouraging athletes to meal prep in

advance so that they do not need to set aside a large amount of time to cook. Another concern

that I have for my future patients is their general nutritional knowledge. If collegiate athletes do

not know what kind of nutrients and foods they should be eating, they will be unable to properly

fuel their bodies and perform optimally. In my opinion, collegiate athletes should be educated in

proper nutrition in a practical, applicable way so that they can achieve their nutritional goals.

Nutrition in athletics plays a key role in athletic performance because athletes need

proper nutrients to perform in their sports, build muscle, replenish their bodies, rebuild, and to
have energy. For these reasons, it is crucial that athletes are aware of their nutritional goals and

are given practical ways to accomplish these.

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