Evaluation of female basketball players' food choices on different days

This study was conducted with 33 professional female basketball players who volunteered to participate and play in the Women's Basketball Super League under the Turkish Basketball Federation during the 2023-2024 season. The aim of the study was to evaluate the food choices of female basketball players on different days. General characteristics, training information, eating habits, athlete food selection scale, and digital food image catalog questionnaire form of the basketball players were questioned face-to-face and online. Anthropometric measurements of the basketball players, including height (cm), body weight (kg), and body fat percentage (%), were taken by the researcher. The average age of the participating basketball players was 25.5±5.96 years. The average height of the basketball players was 179.42±7.83 cm, the average body weight was 73.55±12.39 kg, and the body fat percentage was 17.16±3.34%. 63.6% of the basketball players stated that they had received nutrition education, and all of those who received education indicated that they received nutrition information from a dietitian. 57.6% of the basketball players believed that they were eating adequately and balanced, while 42.4% did not think so. 72.7% (n=24) of the basketball players stated that there were foods they avoided during the season, while 27.3% stated that there were no foods they avoided. Among those who indicated that there were foods they avoided, 24% mentioned fast food, 42% alcohol, 22% sweets, and 12% packaged snacks. 66.7% of the basketball players indicated that they ate more freely on rest days, 30.3% after winning a match, and 3% after losing a match. There was a statistically significant difference in the energy requirements of the basketball players on different days (p=0.001; p<0.05). The highest average sub-factor score on the Athlete Food Selection Scale was found to be "food values and beliefs" with an average of 4.2±0.55 points. The highest scores following the "food values and beliefs" sub-factor were "sensory appeal" and "performance" sub-factors, with averages of 3.97±0.48 and 3.97±0.62, respectively. The sub-factor with the lowest score on the Athlete Food Selection Scale was the "nutritional properties of the food" sub-factor, with an average of 3.67±0.42 points. According to the digital food image catalog on training days, the food group with the highest selection score was the meat, chicken, fish, and legumes group, with an average of 25.61±10.64 points. On match and rest days, the food groups with the highest selection scores were the fast food group, with averages of 26.39±11.4 and 28.58±10.64 points, respectively. A low level of negative correlation was found between the "nutritional properties of the food" sub-factor on the Athlete Food Selection Scale and the grain group scores on the digital food image catalog on match days (r=-0.364; p=0.037). In conclusion, it was found that the food choices and food selection factors of female basketball players differed on different days. In this context, it is recommended that different day nutrition programs for basketball players be organized according to individual needs and that food choices be optimized. Keywords: basketball, female basketball players, nutrition, food selection, athlete nutrition