Association between nutrition knowledge and nutrition practice among Malaysian adolescent handball athletes

Abstract

Introduction: Previous literature suggests that good nutrition knowledge does not necessarily translate into desired eating behaviours among adolescent athletes, which may affect their sports performance. The purposes of the study were twofold, which were to examine nutrition knowledge and practice between the sexes, and to evaluate the magnitude of relationship between nutrition knowledge and practice among adolescent handball athletes in Malaysia. Methods: Three hundred and twelve male and female adolescent handball players competing in a national level competition voluntarily participated in this study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire which consisted of items on their demographic information and about their nutrition knowledge and eating practices. Independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation were used to compare nutrition knowledge and practice between the sexes and to describe the relationship between variables, respectively. Results: The results showed that there were no significant differences (p>0.05) observed for nutrition knowledge and practice between the sexes. Besides, the results demonstrated that nutrition knowledge had a significant but weak positive correlation with eating habit (r=0.114, p=0.003) among the athletes. Conclusion: This study showed that nutrition knowledge and practice were moderately adequate, and that knowledge does not necessarily translate into good dietary practices. Therefore, the athletes would benefit from a comprehensive and innovative nutrition education, a strategy which warrants further investigation.

Investigating the interrelationships among food habits, sports nutrition knowledge, and perceived barriers to healthy eating: a study of adolescent swimmers

“…This aligned with previous research showing a positive association between nutrition knowledge and practices among adolescent athletes ( 30–32 ), the positive correlation between dietary intake and SNK among Adolescent Soccer Players supports this finding ( 33 ). Notably, our research outcomes are contrasts with a study demonstrating that possessing knowledge does not always result in the adoption of good dietary practices ( 34 ). The positive association between SNK and FH emphasizes the pivotal role of education in shaping athletes’ dietary choices ( 14 , 35 ).…”

Advances in Understanding the Interplay between Dietary Practices, Body Composition, and Sports Performance in Athletes

“…Similarly, Masoga et al [ 54 ] reported that the dietary practices of athletes involved in the sport of soccer did not adhere to soccer nutritional guidelines established by the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Furthermore, Jusoh et al [ 55 ] did not observe significant differences in the knowledge and practice of nutrition between sexes in handball. However, the results showed that nutrition knowledge had a significant but weak positive correlation with eating habits among athletes.…”

Adolescent athletes have better general than sports nutrition knowledge and lack awareness of supplement recommendations: a systematic literature review

“…Three studies did not report the specific sports played by the study population. Eighteen studies recruited participants from one type of sport including swimming ( 9 , 22 , 31 , 49 ) , basketball ( 28 , 30 , 44 ) , soccer ( 41 , 43 ) , gymnastics ( 21 ) , ballet ( 20 ) , rugby ( 57 ) , table tennis ( 23 ) , American football ( 24 ) , cross-country skiing ( 38 ) , handball ( 37 ) , volleyball ( 29 ) and synchronised swimming ( 40 ) . The remaining studies represented various sports, including track and field ( 47 ) , aesthetic sports ( 39 ) , endurance sports ( 34 , 35 ) and various team and individual sports ( 25 – 27 , 36 , 42 , 45 , 46 ) .…”

“…Detailed quality assessments for all included studies, with scores assigned for each validity criterion of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics ‘Quality Criteria Checklist: Primary Research’ ( 52 ) , are available in the supplementary material (online Supplementary Table ). Only two studies received an overall ‘positive’ rating ( 34 , 37 ) , with all remaining studies ( n 30) receiving ‘neutral’ ratings, indicating a moderate quality level. The main reasons for neutral ratings were related to the selection of study subjects (criterion 2) and the use of valid and reliable measurement tools (criterion 7) followed by an inadequate description of study settings (criterion 6).…”

“…The remaining studies represented various sports, including track and field (47) , aesthetic sports (39) , endurance sports (34,35) and various team and individual sports (25)(26)(27)36,42,45,46) . Sporting levels included competitive (9,(21)(22)(23)26,30,32,34,35,39,40,42,49) , regional/state/national competitors (27)(28)(29)(36)(37)(38)43,47) , high school/college (19,24,27,33,41,45,57) , elite (20,44,46) and one study did not report sporting level (25) . NK was assessed using twenty-one questionnaires across thirty-two studies.…”