Evaluation of general and sports nutritional knowledge of recreational athletes

Background: Nutritional knowledge is one of the factors that can lead to adopting healthy eating habits and, consequently, favoring sports performance. Aim: The study aimed to assess the nutritional knowledge and its subsections general and sports nutritional knowledge of recreational athletes. Methods: A validated, translated, and adapted 35-item questionnaire was used to assess total (TNK), general-GNK (11 questions), and sports-SNK (24 questions) nutritional knowledge. The Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (ANSKQ) was provided online using Google Forms. Four hundred and nine recreational athletes (male: 173, female: 236, age  =  32.4  ±  9.6 years) completed the questionnaire. Results: The mean TNK (50.7%) and GNK (62.7%) scores were classified as "average" and higher than SNK (45.2%), which was classified as "poor." Male participants had SNK and TNK scores higher than females, but not for GNK. The youngest participants (18-24 years) had TNK, SNK, and GNK scores higher than other age groups (p < 0.05). Participants who reported previous nutritional appointments with a nutritionist had higher TNK, SNK, and GNK scores than those without it (p < 0.05). Those with "advanced" formal nutrition education (university students, graduate, or postgraduate in Nutrition) scored higher than those of groups "none" and "intermediate," for TNK (advanced  =  69.9%, intermediate  =  52.9%, and none  =  45.0%, p < 0.0001), GNK (advanced  =  74.7%, intermediate  =  63.8%, and none  =  59.2%, p < 0.0001), and SNK, (advanced  =  67.5%, intermediate  =  48.0%, and none  =  38.5%, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Results suggest a lack of nutritional knowledge in recreational athletes, mainly those without an appointment with a registered nutritionist and formal nutritional education.