Nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and dietary behaviours of Irish adolescent athletes

Caoimhe Tiernan, Patricia Garrett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Context: Adolescents are amongst the most nutritional vulnerable groups in our population due to the anatomical and physiological developments that occur at this stage of life. The additional energy and hydration demands on adolescent athletes mean they may be more exposed to nutritional problems such as low energy intake and nutrient deficiencies.Purpose: To examine the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and dietary behaviours of Irish adolescent athletes, and explore these variables by sex, sport played, and level of sport played. Method: 416 (224 female and 192 male) adolescent athletes (15.96 ± 0.76 years) from 21 secondary schools across Ireland, completed an online questionnaire, which assessed general and sports nutrition knowledge, attitudes to nutrition, and dietary behaviours. Data were analysed using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests for each variable and grouped by sex, sport played, and level of sport played. Significance level p ≤0.05.Results: The mean nutrition knowledge score was 55.16% ± 13.51, with athletes scoring significantly (p<0.05) higher in general nutrition knowledge (60.37%) than in sports nutrition knowledge (49.8%). Mean nutrition knowledge scores were significantly higher (p=0.014) amongst those playing at international level (60.61%) compared to club level athletes (53.17%). The most significant gap in knowledge related to nutrient requirements around training and competition. Differences in attitudes and dietary practices by sex were found to be significantly higher in male than female athletes believing nutritional supplements were necessary to support training (p=0.006). Conclusions: The results highlight that Irish adolescent athletes recognise that athletic performance is enhanced with optimal nutrition but are lacking fundamental sports nutrition knowledge related to nutrient requirements. Consequently, athletes may not adopt nutrition strategies that optimise their performance or recovery but also their health. These findings will inform future education programmes to improve and reinforce nutrition knowledge in the adolescent athlete cohort.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2060-2068
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Physical Education and Sport
Volume24
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

Keywords

  • health
  • performance
  • Sports nutrition knowledge
  • supplements
  • youth athletes

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