The relationship between nutritional knowledge and practice with nutrition counseling and education in adult athletes in Ahvaz, 2017

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nutritional knowledge and practice with nutrition counseling and education in adult athletes in Ahvaz, 2017 In this cross-sectional study, 550 male and female athletes were randomly selected from 4 regions in Ahvaz, Iran. A questionnaire, including demographic information, sport information sources, nutritional knowledge and practice level, was filled by athletes. Chi-square and Pearson tests were used to examine the relationship between the qualitative and quantitative variables, respectively. Independent sample t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the mean differences between two or several groups, respectively. Of the 11.8% of athletes who received nutrition counseling, 43.2% actively obtained nutritional information, including the contribution of coach (19.2%), internet (12%), nutritionists (9.2%), and family 3.8%. The mean score for knowledge and nutritional practice were 29.5 ± 5.36 and 10.69 ± 2.04 in men and 29.65 ± 3.96 and 10.95 ± 1.8, in women respectively. The mean score for knowledge and practice were significantly higher in subjects who received nutrition counseling (p <0.001). The highest score for knowledge and practice were reported among bodybuilders. There was a direct and positive correlation between nutrition knowledge (P = 0.01, correlation coefficient = 0.1) and nutritional practice (P = 0.003, correlation coefficient = 0.12) and educational level. The knowledge level and practice increased positively with increase in age (p = 0.001, correlation coefficient = 0.15). The findings of this study suggest that the knowledge and practice of athletes may be increased through providing appropriate nutritional counseling and increasing of the education level.