Evaluation of the competition period nutrition knowledge level and behaviors of licensed soccer players in Trabzon

Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the knowledge levels of licensed soccer players in Trabzon on nutrition during the competition period, to determine whether nutritional intake during the competition period is in accordance with internationally accepted guidelines, to explore the factors that may be related to their level of knowledge and the appropriateness of their nutritional intake during the competition period, to examine the effect of athlete's nutrition knowledge sources on their nutrition knowledge level and their nutritional behaviour. Materials and Method: This is a cross-sectional field survey. There are a total of 74 football clubs in Trabzon province with 4965 amateur male, 143 amateur female and 628 professional male licensed footballers' comprising the target population of the study. The sample size was determined as 318 athletes. A total of 308 football players from 16 different clubs participated in our research. Club type, working status with nutritionist, number of licensed soccer players and club whether the club provided of food and beverages filled in the football club questionnaire the managers of the football clubs. A questionnaire to determine the knowledge level of the players on nutrition during the competition period and to determine whether their nutritional intake in the competition period was in line with internationally accepted guidelines was prepared and was filled in by the footballers. The questionnaire included questions on their nutrition and on their liquid consumption record before, during, and after the match. Statistical analyses were conducted with the t test, one-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the association between two continuous variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted with the variables found statistically significant in univariate analyzes. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: All of the football clubs participating in our study provided the players with meal and water on the match day. No dietitians worked in any of the clubs and no consultancy service was available from outside. Trainers, doctors, internet sites were the most frequently consulted nutrition information sources of football players. Only 8.8% of the players received their information on athletes' nutrition from dietitians. Among the participants, 18.2% used special sports food or drink during the match period. The most preferred are sports drinks, energy drinks and protein supplements. Caffeine has been the supplement with the highest rate of correct knowledge on its consumption time and during the match period. When the total information scores were evaluated over 100, the best known period was post-match period (47.0±17.0) and the least known pre-match period (42.5±13.4). The total knowledge score average was 42.3±12.5, the supplement knowledge score average was 28.2±23.0. No significant difference was found between dietary counselling and match-period information levels. When we evaluated the nutrition of the participants in the match period, highest appropriateness was observed for carbohydrate intake one to four hours before the match, and the lowest appropriateness was observed for carbohydrate intake within the first half hour after the match. Among the footballers, 77.8% and 76.4% were above the recommended protein intake before and after the match, respectively, and the carbohydrate intake was below the recommendations during and after the match, respectively. According to multivariate analyzes, pre, during and post-match knowledge levels of the athletes increased about 1.5 times in each 1 unit increase of their nutrition knowledge level perception. There was no significant relation between nutritional information sources and total nutrition knowledge score according to multivariate analyses. Those who were informed by dietitians used athletic food or drink during the match period 6 times more than those who did not. The total pre-match carbohydrate uptake appropriateness increased 1.3-fold in each 1-unit increase in pre-match information level. Conclusion: The level of nutrition knowledge of footballers was very low and the appropriateness of their nutritional intake in the match period was well below the recommendations. For this reason, trainings should be given to footballers to improve nutrition knowledge and behaviors during the match period and full-time dietitians should be provided in the clubs. Keywords: Sports, sports nutrition, athletic performance, football, football matches, team sports, nutrition, nutritional status, nutrition assessment, dietary supplements, diet records, nutritionist, competition, pre-match, post-matchn