Turkish validity and reliability of the nutrition knowledge questionnaire for young and adult athletes (NUKYA-Q)

ABSTRACT Avağ, M.S. (2024). Turkish Validity and Reliability Study on the Evaluation of Validity and Reliability of the Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Turkish Youth and Adult Athletes (NUKYA-Q). Yeditepe University Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Master's Thesis. Istanbul, 2024. The aim of this research is to accurately determine the validity and reliability of the Nutrition Information Questionnaire for Turkish Youth and Adult Athletes (NUKYA-Q) and to evaluate the relationship between athletes' nutritional knowledge level and diet quality. The research was conducted at Avcılar Football Academy with professional athletes playing in the A team and youth teams of Bulvarspor Club. A total of 236 professional athletes aged 13-30 participated in the research. A face-to-face survey was administered to determine individuals' general characteristics, eating habits, and sports nutrition knowledge. To determine nutritional status, 24-hour recall were taken. The diet quality of athletes was evaluated using the Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020). NUKYA-Q was found to be reliable according to its high internal consistency value (Kuder Richardson-20=0.735) and test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient (r=0.971). The athletes' NUKYA-Q total score was 40.11±7.43 and correct response percentage 73.22±10.04%. A statistically significant difference was found between NUKYA-Q scores according to gender (p<0.001). Those who took sports nutrition lessons had significantly higher NUKYA-Q scores than those who did not (p<0.001). Athletes whose source of information about sports nutrition was a dietitian had significantly higher total and sub-section scores on NUKYA-Q compared to those who received information from coaches and other sources (p<0.001). There was a weak but statistically significant positive correlation between NUKYA-Q total score and HEI-2020 total score (r=0.253; p<0.001), as well as between NUKYA-Q total score and components such as whole fruit score (r=0.249, p<0.001), total vegetable score (r=0.478, p<0.001), and green and beans score score (r=0.239, p<0.001). NUKYA-Q was determined to be a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the nutritional knowledge of Turkish athletes. More research is needed to clarify the impact of nutrition knowledge on nutritional practices. Keywords: Sports nutrition knowledge, diet quality, validity, reliability.