Investigation of nutritional habits and weight loss methods of individuals interested in martial arts as a recreational activity

The aim of this study is to examine the nutritional habits and weight loss methods of individuals who are interested in combat sports as a recreational activity in terms of some demographic variables. Different from the competitive athlete, the methods of losing weight by eating and exercising regularly will also be examined. In addition, the population of the study, which will be carried out in the scanning model, will be composed of individuals living in Bursa, Muğla and Ankara. The sample consists of a total of 341 athletes, 177 women and 164 men, who participated voluntarily in these provinces. As a data collection tool in the research, Yarar, Eroğlu, Üzüm, and Polat (2016). from the "Athlete Weight Loss Methods and Effects Scale" (19 Questions) developed by Tekkurşun Demir, G. and Cicioğlu, Hİ., (2019) and from the "Attitude Scale towards Healthy Eating" (21 Questions) ) will be used. As a result: a significant relationship was found only in the sub-dimension of fluid loss, which is one of the sub-dimensions of athletes' weight loss methods according to the gender variable. It was observed that the mean fluid loss scores of male participants were higher than female participants. In terms of the age variable of the participants, a significant relationship was found in the sub-dimension of positive eating habits, one of the sub-dimensions of the attitude towards healthy eating. It is concluded that the nutritional habits are paid more attention as the age level increases. It was determined that the scores of the undergraduate graduates of bad eating habits were higher than the high school participants. We can say that as the level of education increases, the level of knowledge about nutrition increases. It was observed that the scores of those who participated in the Kickboxing branch were lower than those who preferred boxing and Muay Thai. In the sub-dimension of knowledge about nutrition, a significant difference was determined according to the city variable. It was seen that the knowledge scores of the participants living in Muğla about nutrition were higher than the participants living in Ankara. As the fluid loss scores increase, it is seen that the ergogenic aids and diet scores increase. It is observed that as the knowledge level of positive eating habits increases, the scores of diet and weight loss method also increase. As the knowledge level of bad eating habits increases, the scores of the Psychological effect and ergogenic aids methods decrease. It is observed that as the knowledge level of bad eating habits increases, the diet and weight loss method scores also increase. Keywords: Recreation, Sports, Nutrition, Weight