Impact of a nutrition education program on gymnasts' perceptions and eating practices

Abstract Aims: To understand how participating in a Nutrition & Health Education program (NHEP) affected the way rhythm gymnasts and their coaches perceive their food practices. Methods: Qualitative study portraying a case study of a NHEP specifically designed for a rhythm gymnastic team. The NHEP was conducted at the training facilities. Fourteen rhythm gymnasts, consisting of the team that represents a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and their two coaches participated in the study. Athletes and coaches were interviewed about their perceptions and food practices before and after a 9-month NHEP designed specifically for them. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Two categories emerged from the discourses and were analyzed using the content analysis: “beliefs and feeding practices” and “construction of a positive relationship with food”. Results: Athletes reported changes in their food practices related to the themes discussed with them in the NHEP, such as daily breakfast intake, higher intake of fruits, vegetables, milk products, and wholegrain foods. Conclusion: The NHEP allowed specific demands of the athletes to be identified and addressed, generating awareness and motivation to positive changes in eating practices.