Nutrition knowledge and selected nutritional practices of female recreational athletes

Female marathon runners and fitness-class participants took part in a study designed to assess the nutrition knowledge of these two groups of recreational athletes. I also evaluated selected nutritional practices and examined relationships between nutrition knowledge and several demographic and lifestyle variables, including physical activity. I mailed validated, pretested instruments to all female finishers of a recent marathon (n = 173) and to a 10% random sample of female members of a fitness club (n = 190). The average return rate was 64%. The distribution of the two groups by age and education was similar. Most respondents used vitamin/mineral supplements, and supplement use was significantly greater among semivegetarians than among those consuming meat. Runners scored significantly higher on the nutrition knowledge test than did fitness-class participants, a difference that was primarily due to runners' higher scores on questions related to nutrition and activity. I found significant, positive relationships between nutrition knowledge and years of education, the total number of sources of nutrition information, and the level of physical activity. In contrast, the total number of supplements used correlated negatively with scores on questions related to nutrition and physical activity.