Building Collegiate Student-Athlete Self-Efficacy to Improve Diet Quality through a Pilot Nutrition Intervention

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this pilot study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a skill-based sports nutrition education intervention, informed by previous research, with the goal of improving self-efficacy skills and diet quality in division I collegiate volleyball athletes. Methods. This was a pilot study. The nutrition education intervention was evaluated from baseline to post-intervention by comparing sports nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy skills, and dietary intake to determine the success of the program. Descriptives were used to examine the impact of the program. Results: The pilot intervention was developed to integrate skill-based sport nutrition education. Specific validated impact measures were identified and implemented. All seven volleyball athletes attended the six sessions. Carbohydrate intake (+.4) and sports nutrition self-efficacy scores for meal planning (+.54), cooking (+.14) and choosing healthy foods (+.29) improved from pre- to post-intervention. Conclusion: Using research to guide the development of targeted sports nutrition interventions for specific athlete populations could enhance learning and behavior change. Due to the lack of consistent evaluation measures across studies, impact and outcomes of certain interventions are difficult to determine.