General and sports nutrition knowledge among Jordanian adult coaches and athletes: A cross-sectional survey

Sleep Behaviors and Nutritional Knowledge in Amateur and Professional Combat Sport Athletes

ABSTRACT

Dunican, IC, Galpin, A, Turner, M, and Reale, R. Sleep behaviors and nutritional knowledge in amateur and professional combat sport athletes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-Combat sports is a term applied to various competitive contact sports involving 2 competitors engaging in a bout or contest under a specific ruleset. Little is known about combat sports athletes' sleep and nutritional knowledge. This study aimed to assess (a) sleep behaviors, (b) alcohol and shiftwork disorders, and (c) the nutritional knowledge of combat sports athletes. Subjects completed various demographic questions and estimations of their weight management practices and validated surveys, including the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire, Shiftwork Disorder (SWD) Screening Questionnaire, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Abridged Nutrition for Sports Knowledge Questionnaire. A total of 844 combat sports athletes completed the survey, 79% male, height of 177 ± 10 (cm), and body mass of 79 ± 15 (kg). Subjects were categorized into their specific combat sport type (e.g., boxing or Brazilian jiu-jitsu [BJJ]) and by their level (professional or amateur). Sleep quality was average for all combat sport types and risk prevalence of shiftwork disorder at 11%. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that amateurs, compared with professional strikers (p = 0.046, CLES = 0.80), boxers (p = 0.01, CLES = 0.78), and BJJ (p = 0.046, CLES = 0.61) athletes, consumed significantly more alcohol. A Friedman test showed significant (p < 0.001, W = 0.51) differences in weight between time points, with most combat sports athletes reducing weight for competition. An overall nutritional knowledge average of 55% was reported. This study highlights a critical gap in the knowledge and practices of combat sports athletes in relation to sleep behaviors and disorders, alcohol consumption, and nutritional knowledge, emphasizing the need for targeted educational interventions.

The relationship between nutrition knowledge and low energy availability risk in collegiate athletes

OBJECTIVES

This was a pilot study that examined the relationship between nutrition knowledge and risk for low energy availability (LEA) in NCAA athletes.

METHODS

Athletes (64.4 % female, 35.6 % male) completed the Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (A-NSKQ) and either the Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q) or Male Athlete Triad (MAT) screening questions.

RESULTS

Females at risk for LEA had higher nutrition knowledge, demonstrated by higher A-NSKQ scores, than those classified as low risk (16.5 vs 14.5, p = 0.01). There was a very weak correlation between MAT and A-NSKQ scores (R2 = 0.012).

Assessment of General and Sports Nutrition Knowledge, Dietary Habits, and Nutrient Intake of Physical Activity Practitioners and Athletes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Physical performance and overall health are crucial in the athletic population, and their improvement relies on specific dietary guidelines and practices. Athletes and physical activity practitioners who participate in physical activity for specific health reasons need nutritional knowledge to improve physical performance. This study aimed to understand nutrient intake and nutritional knowledge among physical activity practitioners and athletes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study sampled 263 individuals divided into two groups: athletes (n = 121) and practitioners (n = 142). Their nutritional knowledge and dietary intake were measured with validated questionnaires: the Arabic Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire and the Saudi Food Frequency Questionnaire. The majority of the sample (77.2%) had poor nutritional knowledge. Highest scoring domains for the dietary intake were protein from meat, fish, chicken (65.6%), vegetarian protein (62.4%), grains (51.0%), and the lowest were vegetables (41.1%), dairy (36.3%), and fruits (27.9%). In conclusion, athletes and practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have poor nutritional knowledge and dietary intake and may benefit from nutritional education and training to improve their knowledge, dietary intake, and performance.

How Sports Health Professionals Perceive and Prescribe Nutritional Supplements to Olympic and Non-Olympic Athletes

BACKGROUND

A wide range of sports health professionals provide nutritional supplement advice. We aimed to better understand the expertise, knowledge, and attitudes of sports health professionals toward nutritional supplements and third-party supplement testing.

METHODS

A web-based questionnaire was used to ask questions about nutritional supplement knowledge and attitudes toward the Dutch third-party supplement testing system (NZVT), about supplement efficacy, and if professionals advise these supplements, as well as which profession can be deemed the expert on nutritional supplements.

RESULTS

A total of n = 320 sports health professionals delivered input, of which 45% worked with Olympic athletes and 18% were sports dietitians. Sports dietitians were ranked as the most knowledgeable professionals about sports nutrition (80%) and nutritional supplements (74%), and a literature-based comparison showed the most favorable knowledge, attitudes, and ergogenic classifications of supplement scores for sports dietitians compared with other sports health professions. Sports health professionals working with Olympic athletes scored similar but slightly lower trends on self-reported knowledge, attitude and third-party supplement testing than sports dietitians but substantially better than professionals not working with Olympic athletes.

CONCLUSION

Sports dietitians are seen as the absolute expert on supplements by other sports health professionals, with professionals working with Olympic athletes reporting similar trends, and other sports health professionals do have lower self-reported knowledge and preferred attitudes toward effective and safe use of dietary supplements.

Sportsmen's Attitude towards Dietary Supplements and Nutrition Knowledge: An Investigation in Selected Roman Area Gyms

The non-professional sport environment is a grey zone not as widely assessed as that of elite athletes. The purpose of this research was to investigate the dietary supplementation habits and the nutrition knowledge on sport (NKS) in a sample of gym users. The level of adequacy of NKS was set at ≥60% of correct answers. Almost half (46.4%) of respondents stated they used food supplements, in particular multivitamins (31.0%), amino acid pills (29.5%), minerals (29.1%), and protein powders (28.7%). Supplements were used to increase muscle mass (36.9%) and to repair muscle (35.1%). Gym trainers were the preferred source of information on the use of supplements, especially in males (84%). The NKS correct response rate was 57.1% and the proportion of respondents with a sufficient level of NKS was 47.3%. The prevalence of correct answers was highest in males (61.5%) and for respondents with the highest educational attainment levels (44.5% and 53%). This study demonstrated that non-professional sportsmen do not have sufficient knowledge of nutrition and that the gym environment does not facilitate the circulation of the correct information on the role of supplementation. Considering the importance of nutrition for sportsmen, it is necessary to put in place actions aimed at increasing the knowledge of nutrition of gym users and their trainers.