May 7, 2020Penn State nutritionist gives tips to stick to diet
As collegiate student-athletes across the country cannot access many of the athletic tools afforded to them through on-campus facilities and staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one university nutritionist is bringing the services to the athletes.
Penn State University‘s assistant athletic director of performance nutrition science, Kayla Martin, has held Zoom conferences with her student-athletes to check in with them, make sure they are in a good-eating environment, and that they are relating their meals with body composition or bodyweight goals, according to a story with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In a recent Q&A with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Martin outlined some of the things she has shared with her student-athletes to the general population. Below is a sample of the Q&A with the Penn State nutritionist.
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Q: How do you keep the kids on track with their diet without it becoming overwhelming?
A: Gentle reminders. During this time food needs to be a part of the conversation; food is fuel. Good food will provide nutrients that support our immune system. A strong immune system and baseline health are the most important right now. So we focus our efforts on wellness and making sure there aren’t any major changes (with bodyweight, etc). Our sports scientist sends the players a daily wellness survey that includes nutrition questions. We take what we learn from it, assess the trend, and address it as an overhead during team meetings. If one-off conversations need to be had, we do so and make sure he has the resources to succeed. We want to make sure we are supporting the athlete and not causing additional stress.
To read the full story and Q&A with Penn State’s Kayla Martin on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, click here.