The Increase in Parental Knowledge May Change the Nutritional Knowledge and Consumption of Professional Adolescent Swimmers: A Cross Sectional Study

English (OpenAlex)

Objective: Compared to non-athletic adolescents, the nutritional needs of athletes, especially swimmers with intensive training programs, are significantly increased. Therefore, an adequate and balanced diet is important to support their performance and growth. As adolescents are generally supported by their parents in food selection, preparation, and access to food, parents' nutritional knowledge is a factor that influences their diets. Material and Methods: This is an interventional study with pre-post measurements to evaluate the effect of sports nutrition education provided to parents on adolescent athletes' nutritional knowledge and dietary habits. Initially, the athletes were administered a demographic information form, food frequency questionnaire and nutrition knowledge questionnaire. After data collection, nutrition education was given to the parents of the athletes. Six weeks after the education, the questionnaires were readministered to the athletes. Sixty volunteer adolescent competitive swimmers and their parents participated in the study. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in the consumption of foods such as buttermilk, eggs, pulses, nuts, vegetables, fruit, bread, and water (p<0.05). There was also a statistically significant increase in both general and sports nutrition knowledge (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that parental education has a positive effect on the dietary habits and nutritional knowledge of adolescent athletes.