Nutrition Knowledge, Dietary Habits, and Dietary Intake of Collegiate Athletes Living in Selected Rural and Urban Areas in the Philippines

Nutrition is crucial for athletic performance, but geographic location may create disparities. Dietary habits, or typical food and beverage consumption patterns, influence athletes’ health and performance, and access to nutritional resources may differ between urban and rural collegiate athletes. This study aims to assess and compare nutrition knowledge, dietary habits, and dietary intake among collegiate athletes from urban and rural areas. It is hypothesized that these factors will differ significantly between the two groups.

This cross-sectional descriptive–comparative study assessed the nutrition knowledge, dietary habits, and dietary intake of basketball and volleyball players from selected urban and rural areas using a validated questionnaire (Lee-Pineda et al. 2021). Scores were classified as poor (<55%), fair (55–69%), good (70–84%), or excellent (85–100%). An independent-samples t-test was used to compare the mean values between the two groups.

A total of 140 participants aged 18–23 years were included, evenly split between urban (n = 70) and rural (n = 70) areas. The sample comprised 86 males and 54 females. The study revealed that 67.14% from urban and 68.57% from rural areas had “Good” nutritional knowledge, while 62.86% from urban and 51.43% from rural areas had “Fair” dietary habits. Coaches (60.71%) and social media (55.00%) were the top sources of nutritional information. Additionally, 86.43% had not attended any nutrition-related seminars or courses in the past. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in dietary habits between urban (M = 48.09, SD = 4.63) and rural participants (M = 50.37, SD = 4.63), t(138) = -2.29. However, no significant difference was found in nutritional knowledge between urban (M = 85.26, SD = 8.93) and rural (M = 85.01, SD = 10.50) athletes, t(138) = 0.15. Dietary intake differed by residence, with urban athletes showing more inadequacies and rural athletes more often meeting or exceeding recommended nutrient intakes.

There is a potential gap in nutritional practice, suggesting that while athletes may possess information, they often fail to apply it in daily food choices, underscoring the need for targeted nutrition education programs and the promotion of evidence-based guidance.