Dietary & Biological Assessment of Omega-3 Status of Collegiate Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently made changes to its supplement policies, allowing Division I schools to provide fish oil/ omega-3 supplements to athletes. Given the relatively small body of research available on the topic, the purpose of this project was to assess the current intake of omega-3 fats in NCAA Division I athletes in their diets and their corresponding Omega-3 Index (O3i) blood levels, a blood measure suggested to be associated with the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease. In a total sample of 1528 participants (51% male, 19.9 ± 1.4 years of age) from 29 sports, only 6% (n=93) of participants achieved the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’ recommendation to consume 500 mg DHA+EPA/ day. Use of fish oil/ omega-3 supplements was reported by 15% (n=229) of participants. In a subset of 298 participants, zero participants met the suggested Omega-3 Index of >8%.This project produced similar findings to smaller previous studies, suggesting that collegiate athletes are not meeting the general recommendations for omega-3 fats.