Although the importance of adequate hydration is regularly expressed to athletes, many athletes still enter practices or competitions in a state of hypohydration. Research indicates that a majority (over 50%) of professional, collegiate, high school, and youth athletes arrive at workouts and competitions in a hypohydrated state (McDermott et al., 2017). As an example, considering that even a 2% decrease in dehydration can lead to decreased skill performance, reduced strength, and reduced endurance, this means that six out of twelve basketball players on a given team could derive a significant improvement or a significant decrease in performance based on a small difference in fluid consumption habits (Baker et al., 2007; Judge et al., 2021).
In addition, hyperhydration, or more dangerously, hypernatremia, is also a concern, although data is not available on definitive rates of athletes and hyperhydration. Due to the wide range of athletes who regularly train and compete in a hypohydrated state, the “Hydration Heroes” educational program will target any and all athletic trainers and sports physiotherapists, regardless of the age group or ability level they are working with.
Although those working with collegiate and professional athletes may be more inclined to join the program because of the perceived importance of competing at those levels, athletes of all levels can accrue life-long benefits from learning more from their athletic trainer or sports physiotherapist about the benefits of adequately hydrating themselves, and this program aims to bring education to as wide a population-range as possible. It is clear that the current infrastructure for supporting the hydration needs of athletes is inadequate, and the “Hydration Heroes” educational program aims to close the gap between athletes and acceptable hydration habits.
Hydration is an important concept for athletes as not only does it support adequate performance, but it also prevents health problems ranging from muscle cramps to fainting and death (Nuccio et al., 2017; Oppliger & Bartok, 2002; Whitfield, 2006). This nutrition education program will provide a chance for significant and long-lasting improvements in the knowledge of athletes about managing hydration through educating athletic trainers and sports physiotherapists, who are trusted sources of knowledge for athletes.
Aspects of the program will include which beverage choices are best and worst for supporting hydration, how to determine fluid consumption needs based on weather, exercise type, exercise intensity, and sweat rate, motivational factors for improving hydration habits, and additional lifestyle factors that contribute to hydration status. By improving the education of athletic trainers and sports physiotherapists on the subject of hydration, they will have a greater potential to positively impact the knowledge level of every athlete they work with.
Unlike a nutrition education program that directly targets athletes, this program will affect many more athletes as these athletic trainers and sports physiotherapists will work with new athletes each year. In addition, athletic trainers and sports physiotherapists are a primary target for improving the hydration education of athletes as several research studies have concluded that athletic trainers are a top source of trusted nutrition knowledge for athletes, and there is an ingrained reason to believe that when one of these individuals counsels an athlete, the athlete will make a change in their habits (Klein et al., 2021; Weeden et al., 2014).
Furthermore, substantial evidence shows that providing additional education to athletic trainers and other individuals in similar roles can produce rapid improvements. For example, the CDC HEADS UP to Athletic Trainers: Online Concussion Training provides education to athletic trainers on concussion protocol (CDC, 2022). The CDC HEADS UP to Athletic Trainers program is only a 120 min online training program, and although it is brief, research has indicated that attitudes about concussion safety, behavioral intentions, and knowledge about concussions increased immediately following completion of the program (Daugherty et al., 2020).
The “Hydration Heroes” program aims to produce similar increases in knowledge, attitudes, and abilities relating to promoting hydration in athletes.
Short term results can be monitored objectively through pre and post-program urine hydration analysis of the players of teams that these athletic trainers and sports physiotherapists work with, but additional benefits to this program will be seen as the athletes should develop positive hydration habits that remain with them for the course of their careers. Furthermore, there are additional ways to monitor the effectiveness of this nutrition education program, such as comparing rates of pre-training or pre-competition hypohydration rates of teams where athletic trainers who have completed the nutrition education program work, compared to those where their trainer has not completed the nutrition education program.
Monitoring the program’s effectiveness with this type of comparison should provide a relatively easy way to determine its effectiveness. The overarching value provided through this nutrition education program is the development of consistently better athletes who are fueled by proper hydration habits. By supporting this nutrition education program, you support the development of athletes in terms of physical and skill ability and support their life-long general health.
References
Baker, L. B., Dougherty, K. A., Chow, M., & Kenney, W. L. (2007). Progressive dehydration causes a progressive decline in basketball skill performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(7), 1114–1123. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3180574b02
CDC. (2022, February 9). HEADS UP to Athletic Trainers: Online Concussion Training | HEADS UP | CDC Injury Center. Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/athletictrainers/training/index.html
Daugherty, J., DePadilla, L., & Sarmiento, K. (2020). Assessment of HEADS UP online training as an educational intervention for sports officials/athletic trainers. Journal of Safety Research, 74, 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2020.04.015
Judge, L. W., Bellar, D. M., Popp, J. K., Craig, B. W., Schoeff, M. A., Hoover, D. L., Fox, B., Kistler, B. M., & Al-Nawaiseh, A. M. (2021). Hydration to maximize performance and recovery: knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among collegiate track and field throwers. Journal of Human Kinetics, 79(1), 111–122. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2021-0065
Klein, D. J., Eck, K. M., Walker, A. J., Pellegrino, J. K., & Freidenreich, D. J. (2021). Assessment of sport nutrition knowledge, dietary practices, and sources of nutrition information in ncaa division III collegiate athletes. Nutrients, 13(9), 2962. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13092962
McDermott, B. P., Anderson, S. A., Armstrong, L. E., Casa, D. J., Cheuvront, S. N., Cooper, L., Kenney, W. L., O’Connor, F. G., & Roberts, W. O. (2017). National athletic trainers’ association position statement: fluid replacement for the physically active. Journal of Athletic Training, 52(9), 877–895. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-52.9.02
Nuccio, R. P., Barnes, K. A., Carter, J. M., & Baker, L. B. (2017). Fluid balance in team sport athletes and the effect of hypohydration on cognitive, technical, and physical performance. Sports Medicine, 47(10), 1951–1982. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0738-7
Oppliger, R. A., & Bartok, C. (2002). Hydration testing of athletes. Sports Medicine, 32(15), 959–971. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200232150-00001
Weeden, A.M., Olsen, J., Batacan, J.M., & Peterson, T. (2014). Differences in collegiate athlete nutrition knowledge as determined by athlete characteristics. The sport journal, 17.
Whitfield A. H. (2006). Too much of a good thing? The danger of water intoxication in endurance sports. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 56(528), 542–545.