Nutrition Education and Weight Maintenance in Male High-School Swimmers

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME:To examine the effectiveness of nutrition education on weight maintenance of male high-school swimmers during the 14-week swim season. This study examines the effect of nutrition education on weight maintenance of male high-school swimmers throughout the 14-week season. Twenty-nine swimmers from two area high schools participated in this study. The control group from the first high school had 10 swimmers on their team. The second high school, the nutrition education (NE) group, had 19 swimmers on their team. Participants in the control group were weighed at the beginning of the season, and again at the end of the season; no nutritional information was given to this group. The nutrition education (NE) group participated in a nutritional education presentation with a parent, where they also received printed nutritional information including: sport specific nutritional information, snack ideas, and sample training menus. The NE group participants were weighed weekly throughout the 14-week season. Both the control group and the NE group held practices in the same facility, and training sessions were similar in practice time and intensity. The results at the end of the season showed that the control group had a mean weight loss of 1.593 ± 2.58 kg.The NE group results showed a mean gain of 0.579 ± 0.977 kg.The statistical comparison (t-test) of the pre- and post-season weights of both groups showed significant differences (P< 0.05). These results provide evidence that the nutritional education program had a positive effect on male high-school swimmer's ability to maintain weight throughout a rigorous season.