Effects Of An Online Sports Nutrition Curriculum On Biomarkers Of Iron Status In Youth Athletes: 3249 Board #1 June 1 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Online nutrition education curricula framed around concepts of sports nutrition may improve accessibility as well as engagement, awareness, and adherence for active high school athletes. PURPOSE: Examine the effects of an online sports nutrition curriculum on ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), and hemoglobin (Hb) biomarkers of iron status in high school athletes. METHODS: One hundred twenty-three male (n=56, age: 17 ± 1 y, stature: 76 ± 20 kg, mass: 176 ± 6 cm) and female (n=67, 16 ± 1 y, 67 ± 16 kg, 164 ± 6 cm) high school athletes were tested for ferritin, sTfR, and Hb concentrations before and after participating in seven online sports nutrition modules (~1 module per week) focused on macronutrients, micronutrients, performance plate, energy balance, nutrient timing, and supplements. Pre- and post-education prevalence of poor iron status for each biomarker was calculated, while individual subject’s iron status classification was tracked. Mixed factorial ANOVAs (time x sex) compared mean biomarker concentrations. RESULTS: Prevalence of iron depletion (ferritin cutoffs) increased from 48 to 52% and decreased from 79 to 75%, low iron levels (sTfR cutoffs) decreased from 38 to 30% and increased from 29 to 33%, and anemia (Hb cutoffs) decreased from 20 to 14% and 29 to 23% in males and females, respectively. Subjects classified as iron depleted (n=65) did not change, one subject improved iron levels, while six subjects (6%) improved their classification from anemic (n=25) to non-anemic (n=19) from pre- to post-education. There were no interactions (p>0.05) or main effect for time (p>0.05) for ferritin (pre 28.4 ± 15.1 to post 28.0 ± 14.2), sTfR (19.0 ± 8.2 to 20.1 ± 7.4), or Hb (13.5 ± 2.2 to 13.9 ± 1.8). There was no main effect for sex (p>0.05) for sTfR (m: 19.2 ± 6.4, f: 19.8 ± 6.4), but males exhibited higher (p≤0.05) concentrations of ferritin (m: 32.5 ± 18.2, f: 23.8 ± 18.2) and Hb (m: 14.3 ± 1.7, f: 13.2 ± 1.7). CONCLUSIONS: Females present a greater risk of poor iron status, suggesting a need to focus on dietary iron in young female athletes. Participating in the online sports nutrition curriculum did not improve mean concentrations of ferritin, sTfR, or Hb, but did improve anemia classifications for six subjects (n=3 males, n=3 females). Acknowledgments: This study was funded by the Nebraska Beef Council.