The Effectiveness of an Online Nutrition Education Program on Varsity Athletes’ Nutritional & Dietary Supplement Knowledge

Background/Objectives: Research has shown that athletes often have poor nutritional knowledge, particularly regarding dietary supplements. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an online nutrition education program in improving nutritional and dietary supplement knowledge among varsity athletes at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Methods: A total of 30 varsity athletes at the University of Guelph were randomized into experimental [n = 18] and control [n = 12] groups. A randomized wait-list controlled intervention was used, where participants in the experimental group were granted access to an online, 4-week nutrition education program, while no program was provided to the control group within the duration of the study. The program covered nutrition topics and focused on sports nutrition and dietary supplementation. Both groups were administered a validated online nutrition and dietary supplement questionnaire at baseline and post-intervention. Results: Mean baseline knowledge scores for the experimental and control groups were 13.78 ± 2.76 and 13.92 ± 2.39, respectively, and were not significantly different [p = 0.888]. Post-intervention scores were 16.28 ± 1.49 and 14.5 ± 1.88 for the experimental and control groups, respectively, [p < 0.05]. There was a significant interaction between the intervention and time on knowledge. Conclusions: These results indicate that this nutrition education program was successful in significantly improving nutritional and dietary supplement knowledge in varsity athletes.