Physical Fitness and Nutrition in Collegiate Musical Theater Programs

BACKGROUND: Athleticism and physical fitness are often not the first characteristics one identifies when visualizing someone in musical theater. Watching just one performance can make it clear that dancing, acting, running, all while singing and keeping near perfect pitch requires a theater actor to be extremely fit. As well as fitness, nutrition considerations and injury prevention should also be considered due to the high physiological demand placed on these performers. Minimal research has been conducted regarding the fitness and nutritional habits of musical theater performers. PURPOSE: This study investigated the prevalence of discussions about fitness and nutrition in collegiate musical theater programs and assessed how students in these programs prepare themselves for the physiological demands of performance. METHODS: Eleven musical theater majors at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) participated in this study. A questionnaire was sent to all musical theater students at BGSU by the musical theater department head, upon obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. The survey contained questions about physical fitness, injury prevention, and nutrition, such as if/where they learned about these topics (e.g., formal curriculum, parents, peers). The questionnaire contained questions from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Starting the Conversation (STC) nutritional survey. RESULTS: Based on the IPAQ, students were found to be in the Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) active category. Seven (78%) respondents reported engaging in vigorous physical activity (PA) ≥3 days/week; six (67%) reported moderate PA ≥3 days/week. On the STC, the average score of the students was eight, which is neutral on the scale of healthiest habits to those with the most room for improvement (Scale 0-16). Students reported that much of the class discussion of fitness and nutrition is informal and that they learned about these topics from friends (fitness: n=6, nutrition: n=4), parents (fitness: n=5, nutrition n=4), and other sources (Informal class discussion, staff). Four (50%) respondents reported that they had experienced an injury while preparing for or participating in performance. CONCLUSION: Respondents had high levels of activity and appropriate nutrition habits despite minimal formal discussion on these topics in their curriculum. The addition of fitness and nutrition into the curriculum would ensure that all students receive consistent and reliable information.