Sports Nutrition Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among Gymnasium Users in Jordan

Abstract

Nutrition forms the foundation for physical performance of an athlete. Nutrients deficiency can negatively affect health and sports performance of an athlete. There are several factors attributed to this situation which include lack of knowledge regarding nutrition, specifically sports nutrition. This is because, a person with lack of knowledge is most likely to have a negative attitude and poor dietary practice [1].   The aim of the study is to assess the levels of nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among gymnasium users in Jordan.   In this study, a total of 138 male gymnasium users (18 – 35 years) were recruited from several gymnasiums in Jordan. Their height and weight were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The KAP-Sports nutrition questionnaires which contains 3 sections was administered. The first section comprised of 25 questions regarding knowledge on basic sports nutrition, the second section comprised of seven questions regarding usual food choices and proper nutrition, while the third section comprised of 20 questions on attitude towards nutrition and sports-enhancing diet. Descriptive analysis (SPSS vs. 26.0) was used to analyse the data from KAP questionnaires.   As shown in the Table 1, majority of the participants have moderate knowledge on sports nutrition (77.6%; n=107) with minority of the participants have low knowledge on sports nutrition (3.3%; n=6) while the rest of them have high knowledge on sports nutrition (18.1%; n=25). For attitude, majority of the participants have neutral attitude (84.7%; n=117) with minority of the participants have positive attitude (5.1%; n=7) while the rest of them have negative attitude towards sports nutrition (10.2%; n=14). A total of 93 participants (67.4%) had fair dietary practices and 45 participants (32.6%) had a poor dietary practice. However, none of the participants (0%) had a good dietary practice. In conclusion, gymnasium users in Jordan did not have adequate knowledge which in turns affect their attitude as well as dietary practice. Hence, sports nutrition education is recommended to ensure adequate and correct knowledge are disseminated to the athletes.