Nutritional Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating of College-going Women Hockey Players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the nutritional knowledge of female collegiate hockey players and how effectively they apply their nutritional knowledge to their everyday eating habits. The sample studied included female hockey players (n=30) from different college teams of Haryana in the age group of 17-23years. The instrument was a self-administered questionnaire designed to assess nutritional knowledge and attitudes of the subjects. The mean score on nutritional knowledge test was 22.85/55 (38.80% Correct). While incorrect and uncertain responses accounted for the majority of answers, the lowest correct responses were recorded for fiber and energy (21.4 and 25.9% respectively). The attitude towards gaining nutrition information was very positive (93.3%) but a massive impact of family food habits was observed. This study suggests that athletes lack knowledge of nutrition, healthy food choices, components of a well-balanced diet, and the implications of nutrition on performance. The results can be used to develop training semina rs and educational materials to promote greater nutritional knowledge and healthy attitudes among players.