Kansas University has announced the launch of a new mobile app, Jayhawk Fuel, designed for use by student-athletes as a guide to make better choices when eating food. Jayhawk Fuel was created and launched by the Kansas Athletics Department using the MobileSmith app development platform. The release of the app, which is available on both iOS and Android operating systems, was announced by MobileSmith on October 14.
According to the Kansas Athletics website, the app will help university student-athletes make the best food choices when dining on campus, making meals at home, or dining out at a restaurant. The easy to use layout prompts the user to select whether or not they are “Dining In” or “Dining Out”. From there, users can use all of the Jayhawk Fuel resources including bios on the sports nutrition staff, a collection of team nutrition guides, a consultation request form, helpful links, and a weekly training table menu.
Another reason for the creation of the app by Kansas Athletics was to promote the launch of the newly published Jayhawk Fuel High Performance Cookbook. The Jayhawk Fuel app puts the High Performance Cookbook in an easy-to-read and digestible format for student-athletes who may wish to have their nutrition information on-the-go on their smartphone. Jayhawk Fuel gives student-athletes access to the new cookbook as well as a listing of better and best options at local restaurants, and additional helpful resources.
The idea of creating an app to help student-athletes make better diet decisions will not only help improve athletic performance, it will also improve student-athlete education for eating healthier. Something that isn’t always easy to do for busy students.
This app is part of a growing trend of universities continuing to spend money on their respective athletic departments to improve student-athlete nutrition. One example is the University of Miami (FL), which just opened a new nutrition center last September in order to help student-athletes replenish their bodies with necessary vitamins and nutrients before and after practice or on their way to class.
The new Jayhawk Fuel app seeks to help student-athletes make choices when they are not on campus, which is an excellent extension of the nutritional education emphasis in colleges around the country.