Knowledge, Attitude And Dietary Practices Of Track And Field Athletic Men And Women Aged 18-22 Years

Background:  Sports and nutrition are directly related to each other. Taking into consideration the fact that sportspersons need more energy to carry out their sporting activity effectively, it becomes of prime importance to take care of the nutrition for sports performance. Careful planning and implementation is required, when it comes to athlete sports nutrition. Objective: The purpose of this study was to see whether track and field athletes are having the proper knowledge, attitude and practice regarding sports nutrition .Design: A prospective descriptive analysis of athletes’ sources of nutrition knowledge, attitude and practices were assessed using a structured questionnaire developed by the investigator. A pilot study was conducted to validate the questionnaire that was developed.  A total of one hundred and seventy eight athletic men and women aged 18 to 22 years were included in the study. An informed content was obtained from the participants. The KAP questionnaire comprises of ten questions of knowledge, attitude and practice each respectively. The results:  The mean age of the athletes were 18 ± 3.2 yrs. The main nutrition sources of athletes were from coaches.  The mean score of knowledge questions was 5.26 ± 1.5 and 56 % of the athletes gave correct responses on knowledge questions, whereas mean attitude score was found to be 36.3 ± 6.42 and only 47% of the athletes  had a good attitude towards attitude questions.  The mean dietary practices score was 5.82 ± 2.1 and 59% gave right responses to the practice questions. The results of the KAP showed fair knowledge, attitude and practice regarding sports nutritionConclusion:  Fair KAP score demands nutrition education to be implemented for the athletes to have a better physical performance.