10 / 15
Page 42
conferenceseries
.com
Volume 9
Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
ISSN: 2155-9600
Clinical Nutrition 2019
March 04-06, 2019
March 04-06, 2019 | Barcelona, Spain
24
th
International Conference on
Clinical Nutrition
Knowledge, attitudes and practices on sports nutrition, body composition and associated factors among
national level athletes in Sri Lanka
H M W A B Wijerathne
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Introduction & Objectives
: This study evaluates the practices on sports nutrition, body composition and associated
factors among national level athletes in Sri Lanka.
Method
: Cross sectional study was carried out among 178 national level athletes aged 18-35 years representing
karate, swimming, wrestling, volleyball, weight lifting (indoor) netball, rugby, track and field athletes (outdoor). Self-
administered questionnaire obtained data on knowledge, attitude and practices on dietary pattern, hydration and
supplements. Body composition (body mass index-BMI and body fat percentage) was determined using stadiometer,
weighing scale and body impedance analyser.
Results
: Practices were poor; consuming fast food (88.8%), missing meals (56.8%), improper meal timing (65.3%)
and inadequate hydration during practices (73.8%). Majority (53.4%) had recommended BMI, however only 15.3%
had recommended body fat. Majority (60.1%) had adequate overall knowledge on sports nutrition. Knowledge
within subcategories varied, where most were of satisfactory knowledge with regard to dietary intake (59.6%) and
supplements (55.6%), but not hydration (35.4%). Overall attitudes were positive (58.4%). Compared to outdoor
sports, indoor sports significantly associated with improper timing of meals (indoor 65.6%, outdoor 40.6%; p<0.01),
missing meals (indoor 64%, outdoor 40%; p<0.01), adequate hydration (indoor 66.3%, outdoor 84.3%; p<0.01) and
less supplement consumption (indoor 68.9%, outdoor 48%; p<0.01). Compared to females, males had improper
meal timing (males 62.7%, females 42.6%; p<0.05), adequate hydration (males 32.1%, females 16.1%; p<0.05) and
recommended body fat percentage (males 19.4%, females 7.8%; p<0.05). Less experienced athletes had adequate
BMI (less 63.6%, more 44.4%; p<0.05) but consumed more energy drinks (less 70.3%, more 38.8%; p<0.01). Athletes
with higher education level (47.3%) consumed supplements compared to lower educational level (32.3%; p<0.05).
Knowledge was not associated with any practices.
viduranga02@gmail.comJ Nutr Food Sci 2019, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2155-9600-C2-093