Department of Nutrition Student Projects

Submission Date

4-10-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition (BSHN)

First Mentor

Andrea Charvet, Ph.D.

Keywords

Nutrition, Eating Disorders, Athletes, Student-Athlete Mental Health, Nutrition Education

Abstract

Female collegiate athletes are currently recognized as a high-risk group for developing eating disorders due to performance pressures and unrealistic body standards. Limited studies have analyzed the impact of tailored educational and behavioral interventions on the prevalence of eating disorders among female athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This proposed research will be conducted at Nova Southeastern University to explore how colleges can decrease the cases of eating disorders among female athletes using a multi-component educational intervention. Participants will be screened through the EAT-26 assessment tool and initial BMI measures will be recorded to establish a baseline for eating disorder prevalence. Following the pre-assessment, participants will complete a 16-week educational intervention, featuring a weekly webinar with the Department of Human Nutrition, a weekly mental health meeting with coaching staff, and bimonthly nutrition counseling sessions with an on-campus sports dietitian. At the end of the 16-week period, the EAT-26 screening tool will be readministered and BMI measurements will be re-recorded to collect post-intervention data and assess changes from the baseline. We expect to find strong evidence supporting a decrease in eating disorder prevalence among NCAA female athletes following the 16-week intervention. The results will provide an evidence-based framework for preventing eating disorder cases among female collegiate athletes, which can be used to develop similar programs that promote positive behavior change.

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