Attitudes toward Nutrition and Dietary Habits and Effectiveness of Nutrition Education in Active Adolescents in a Private School Setting: A Pilot Study

This study was designed to pilot a survey to investigate nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward nutrition, exercise, and dietary habits of active adolescents. Participants included 117 middle school and 40 high school students. General and sport nutrition knowledge, dietary habits, and attitudes toward nutrition education were collected via three electronic surveys. Among middle schoolers, 79.5% of students stated feeling they could benefit from advice about nutrition compared to 92.5% of high school students. The topic scoring the highest in both populations was hydration; the lowest scoring topic category was protein and exercise. Knowledge about healthy eating reportedly comes from parents and coaches most frequently for both high school and middle school students. Less than 40% of students stated their diet meets their nutritional needs. Both middle school and high school students stated a desire to learn more about nutrition, but most nutrition information currently received comes from non-nutrition-related professionals. There is a need for validation of a nutrition knowledge and behavior instrument for United States adolescents, and room for improvement in general and sport nutrition knowledge in active adolescents in all topic areas.