| The goal of this study was for the researcher to design, implement, and evaluate an intervention for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) college student-athletes (CSAs), ages 18-24 years, at a small, private university to analyze perceived dietary intake on actual dietary intake of CSAs. Understanding the relationship between CSAs perceived dietary intake and actual dietary intake is necessary to establish and maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet. Twenty-five CSAs at the institution volunteered to participate in the study. These CSAs all completed the pre/post perceived dietary intake survey (PDIS), the pre/post 3-day dietary recall (3 DDR), and the 30-minute online education intervention (OEI). The research instruments used were developed from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and SuperTracker (online database). Findings determined that overall perceived dietary intake was higher than actual dietary intake and actual dietary intake was deficient in meeting the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for 14 of the 15 nutrients examined pre- and post-intervention. The OEI was not successful in impacting actual dietary intake. The findings support the addition of providing better nutrition resources to CSAs. Nutrition is an important part of overall health and athletic performance and CSAs need proper education to meet nutrition needs for health and wellbeing (Anderson, 2010). |
