Abstract
BackgroundYouth athletes are under increasing pressures to excel in their chosen sport and many turn to nutritional supplements in order to enhance sports performance. However, athletes may obtain their nutritional information via illegitimate sources such as the internet, media, and other athletes, representing miscommunication between sound scientific information and anecdotal experiences. The objective of this investigation was to examine nutrition knowledge of elite youth athletes from a non-residential regional academy of sport.MethodsA previously validated two-part nutrition knowledge questionnaire (NKQ) was administered to 101 (37 male and 64 female) non-residential regional Academy of Sport elite youth athletes at an annual training camp. Part 1 of the NKQ presented demographic questions. Part 2 presented 90 sports nutrition knowledge questions in seven knowledge subcategories (1) Nutrients; (2) Dietary reference intakes (DRI); (3) Fluids/Hydration; (4) Recovery; (5) Weight gain; (6) Weight loss; and (7) Supplements.ResultsThe mean NKQ score of all athletes was 43.8% (± 11.4). No gender differences observed between nutritional knowledge total scores, however female athletes recorded more ‘correct’ responses than males (p = 0.02) in the Nutrients subcategory. Majority of athletes had difficulty identifying correct DRI with this subcategory featuring the lowest percentage of ‘correct’ to ‘incorrect’ responses (27.1% ± 2.3; p = 0.02). Supplements subcategory displayed much uncertainty with significantly more ‘unsure’ than ‘incorrect’ responses (42.4% ± 20.3; p < 0.05).ConclusionsIn agreement with previous research, results of the current study indicate that elite youth athletes lack fundamental nutritional knowledge, specifically related to DRI and supplementation. These data provide further support of current recommendations that Academy of Sport youth athletes may benefit from integrated nutrition education conducted by qualified nutrition professionals.
Highlights
Youth athletes are under increasing pressures to excel in their chosen sport and many turn to nutritional supplements in order to enhance sports performance
(2020) 6:35 nutritional knowledge [13, 14], with much of their nutritional information obtained via illegitimate sources such as the coach, teacher, other athletes, internet, and social media [15]
Participants A total of 101 elite youth athletes (37 males, 64 females; state and national competition level; 15.3 ± 1.4 years) who were scholarship holders from a non-residential regional Academy of Sport (Western Region Academy of Sport, WRAS) in Australia were invited to participate in this study
Summary
Youth athletes are under increasing pressures to excel in their chosen sport and many turn to nutritional supplements in order to enhance sports performance. It is well established that this period of significant (2020) 6:35 nutritional knowledge [13, 14], with much of their nutritional information obtained via illegitimate sources such as the coach, teacher, other athletes, internet, and social media [15] This may represent a miscommunication from non-qualified individuals providing nutritional advice to athletes that leads to nutritional principles being misunderstood and/or incorrectly applied [16]. Research suggests that collegiate athletes with greater understanding of sound nutritional principles are more likely to apply this knowledge and display positive nutritional behaviors [17] This is an extremely important consideration, especially for athletes competing in weight-restricted or aesthetic sports wherein youth athletes may feel pressured to restrict caloric intake [18, 19]. This would suggest that reliable sources of nutrition information and education, as well as appropriate nutrition services including counseling are required for collegiate athletes
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