Examining the nutritional information, sleep and youth status of amateur and professional football players

Nutrition is one of the most important factors affecting the athletic performance of football players. True nutrition plan and nutritional information support the mental and physical development of the players. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between nutrition and sleep and burnout. This study was planned to examine the nutritional habits, nutritional knowledge levels, sleep habits and burnout of football players. Research, January 2020 - July 2020 between the Football Federation of Turkey in Konya province depends on the age range of 14-19; 54 adolescents, 32 amateurs, 22 professionals, and their age is between 20-38; It was conducted with a total of 118 players, including 38 amateur, 26 professional, 64 adult team players. The individual characteristics of the football players participating in the study were questioned with the questionnaire form with 45 questions. In order to determine the nutritional knowledge levels of football players, the Sports Nutrition Knowledge Level Questionnaire consisting of 68 statements was applied. In order to determine the sleep status of the football players, the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire consisting of 4 factors and 17 items was used. The burnout status of the football players was determined by the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire consisting of 13 items. In order to determine the dietary habits and nutritional status of the players, Food Consumption Frequency and 3-day Food Consumption Record Form were applied. The average age of the football players participating in the study is 21.0 ± 4.99 years. The average weight of professional adolescent football players (70.0 ± 9.63 kg) was found to be higher than amateur adolescent football players (65.8 ± 9.28 kg). The average weight of amateur adult and professional adult football players was found to be similar (72.1 ± 9.16 kg, 72.8 ± 7.47 kg). The average body fat percentage of professional adolescent footballers is higher than amateur adolescent footballers; The average body fat percentage of amateur adult football players was higher than professional adults. There was no statistical significance between the groups. The average muscle mass of the football players is 57.9 ± 6.91 kg, and the average lean tissue mass is 61.4 ± 6.68 kg. The average daily energy intake of football players is approximate and it is professional adolescent players with the highest value. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p> 0.05). The group with the highest nutritional knowledge is professional adolescent players. When the sub-dimensions of sports nutrition knowledge level are examined; The median values of weight control variable and sports related factors, sleep quality factors, habitual sleep behavior factors, total sleep behavior score, emotional physical exhaustion, decreased sense of accomplishment and depersonalization variables were statistically significant (p<0.05). Among the macronutrients sub-dimension and sleep quality factors, habitual sleep behavior factor, total sleep behavior score and depersonalization variables; micronutrients sub-dimension and habitual sleep behavior factor, sleep disorder factors, decreased sense of accomplishment and depersonalization variables; Between the athlete nutrition sub-dimension and the habitual sleep behavior factor, total sleep behavior score and depersonalization variables, and the total nutritional knowledge score and sleep quality factors, the habitual sleep behavior factor, decreased sense of achievement and depersonalization variables were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). In line with these results, in order to contribute to the athletic performance of football players, it is necessary to further examine their nutritional habits, sleep states and burnout and do more studies on these issues. Keywords: Athlete nutrition, athlete sleep behavior, athlete burnout, athlete nutrition knowledge