Dave Pearson admits that he is guilty of unknowingly helping to convince a whole generation that it's okay if they eat whatever they want as long as they exercise.

Now, he is leading an effort to reach out to high school athletes to convince them to examine and change their nutritional habits in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle for years to come.

Pearson, director of the strength research laboratory and associate professor of physical education, is reaching out to young athletes through free information and videos posted at Stack.com.

Through the company's Web site and magazine, Pearson now has a platform to help the next generation of adults.

"We've been telling a whole generation of adults that if they only exercise for 30 minutes a couple days a week, they can pig out on whatever they want," said Pearson, who has been a consultant to NCAA Division I college sports programs and a variety of professional teams.

"I am honestly sick and tired of people not taking care of themselves, and I am going to try to convince young athletes to start good nutritional habits now before they reach adulthood," he said. "Good nutritional habits go hand-in-hand with exercise. There is no way of getting around it."

Pearson is being featured by Stack on several platforms, sharing advice as to how young athletes can determine their daily protein needs and how best to go about gaining lean mass. He also discusses the role of glutamine and branched-chained amino acids in the body.

Sarah Gearhart, Stack's assistant director of content, said her company approached Pearson because of his expertise on performance enhancement through nutritional supplements for athletes, particularly protein powders, which is a hot topic among young athletes.

"Dave has a terrific national reputation as does Ball State University when it comes to expertise in these areas. We hope to continue working with Dave in the future because we see him as an incredible resource for millions of young people."