A look inside nutrition in collegiate athletics

Abstract

Sports nutrition is a blossoming profession and continues to grow. Within the daily functions of a sports nutrition department, working as a sports dietitian is more than providing food and hydration sources. Sports nutrition includes educating athletes about the benefits of food and teaching them life-long skills such as, cooking and grocery shopping that they may use for the rest of their lives. Being successful in the sports nutrition profession requires excellent communication, organization, dedication, and hard work. Nutrition can help an athlete in creating an advantage for improving performance and recovery. Within sports nutrition, sports dietitians are being called on to provide appropriate education for athletes. The purpose of this review is to examine the various aspects of a sports nutrition department and the skills necessary for a sports dietitian to be successful at the Division I Collegiate level. This review will cover the regulatory, financial, staffing, athlete, environmental, and technological aspects of sports nutrition. The following review may be beneficial for those who are interested in pursuing sports nutrition as a career, as it aims to elucidate expectations regarding the day to day job requirements.