Nutrition Knowledge of High School Wrestling Coaches, Wrestlers, and Parents

Background/Purpose: Adolescent athletes who participate in weight-classified sports such as wrestling are at risk for developing eating disorders or disordered eating patterns. Fasting, purging, restricting fluids, and using laxatives and diuretics are frequently observed behaviors among wrestlers. This often results in severe dehydration which may lead to heart abnormalities and even death. Wrestling coaches strongly influence the knowledge and behaviors of their athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the eating disorders and nutrition knowledge of high-school wrestlers, their coaches and their parents.

Method The30-item Five Domains for Eating Disorders: A Survey for College Coaches and the 13-item Sport Nutrition Survey by Shifflet were utilized. High- school wrestling coaches were contacted via e-mail by the NWCA executive director and asked to complete the surveys and to encourage wrestlers and their parents or guardians to complete the surveys. SurveyMonkey was utilized for web design and data collection; data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 16.0).

Analysis/Results A national sample of 949 participants was obtained; 747 (79%) were coaches, 97 (10%) were wrestlers and 105 (11%) were parents or guardians of wrestlers. Fifty-seven percent were aware of protein needs, risks associated with dehydration, how to safely increase weight and the purpose of taking vitamins or supplements. Only 33% of coaches correctly answered questions regarding the placement of emphasis on ideal body composition and body fat percentage by coaches and the safety of coaches encouraging rapid weight loss in a short period of time. Only 37% of participants responded correctly to need and quantity of pre- and post-activity hydration and the percentage of each food group that should be included in a healthy diet.

Conclusions: While some results are positive; other findings indicate a need for interventions that target both wrestlers and coaches. Results suggest the need for development of health education interventions tailored to the specific needs of these populations.

Learner Objectives: After attending this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the health problems associated with athletes in weight-classified sports such as wrestling;

2. Discuss the nutrition knowledge of coaches and wrestlers.

3. Describe the components that should be included in interventions tailored to the specific needs of these athletes.