New Study Will Examine Methods to Improve the Health and Well-Being of College Women Athletes

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center of Louisiana State University received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research on improving the health and well-being of women college athletes. The study, entitled “Female Athlete Body Project: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” will involve 500 women college athletes at Louisiana State University, American University in Washington, D.C., and Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Co-principal investigators of the study are Pennington Biomedical’s Tiffany Stewart, an assistant professor and director of the Behavior Technology Laboratory, and Carolyn Becker, a professor of psychology at Trinity University.

Shelly Mullenix, senior associate athletic trainer and director of wellness at Louisiana State University, said, “This is a great opportunity to collaborate on programming that could improve our care of our female athletes. While athletic competition and academic excellence are an important part of what we can offer our student-athletes, it is equally as important to educate our athletes about ways to improve their overall health during their collegiate years as well as ultimately impact their lives in the future. This grant will allow us to meet that goal.”