Evaluation of the nutrition knowledge of sports department students of universities

BACKGROUND Individuals who have knowledge on the importance of adequate and balanced diet and reflect this knowledge to their behaviors are considered to be more successful in sports life. The present study aims to evaluate the nutrition knowledge of students receiving sports education in universities. METHODS The study sample consists of 343 voluntary students from the Sports Departments of Hacettepe, Gazi and Ankara Universities in Ankara. The questionnaire used in the study included a demographic section, and 30 questions on true-false nutrition knowledge. For the reliability of the questionnaire, the internal consistency coefficient was calculated and the Kuder Richardson (KR-20) value was found to be 0.71. For higher reliability, 9 dysfunctional questions were excluded from the questionnaire. The research data were collected through a questionnaire form and face-to-face interviews. For the statistical analyses of the data, tables were prepared to show mean, standard deviation (X̄±SD) and percentage (%) values. In order to determine the nutrition knowledge of students, the "independent t test" was used for nutrition lesson and gender. RESULTS University students receiving sports education and expected to continue their professional lives on sport-related fields were determined to have the lack of knowledge on nutrition. The mean value about the nutrition knowledge of the first year students was found 11.150 ± 2.962, while the mean value of the fourth year students was 13.460 ± 3.703, and the difference is statistically significant (p = .000). CONCLUSION Students, coaches and teachers in physical education were found not to give the necessary importance to their diets, and they were still not aware of the importance of nutrition on performance.