Evaluation of nutrition knowledge and attitudes among adults engaged in regular exercise

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study is to determine the knowledge levels and nutritional attitudes of individuals who exercise regularly regarding sports nutrition and to examine the relationship between these two variables. Methods This study was conducted on a total of 200 adults, 100 female and 100 males, aged 18-48, who do regularly exercise. In this study, data were collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Sports Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire, and the Attitude Scale Toward Healthy Nutrition (ASHN). The questionnaire was administered online via Google Forms. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS v25; Following descriptive statistics, analyzes were carried out with parametric test methods (Independent Samples T-Test, One-Way ANOVA, Pearson Correlation) in line with the research purposes, and the significance level was accepted as p < 0.05. Results The mean body mass index (BMI) was calculated as 20.5 +/- 2.1 kg/m(2) for female participants and 24.9 +/- 2.4 kg/m(2) for male participants. Participants showed high physical activity levels (IPAQ-SF: females 1675.4 +/- 1085.6; males 2000.8 +/- 1845.7 MET-min/week), yet their sports nutrition knowledge remained insufficient. A significant negative correlation was found between sports nutrition knowledge and BMI (r = -0.228; p < 0.01). Those who received nutrition education had higher knowledge scores (58.2 +/- 19.8) and lower malnutrition tendencies (p < 0.05), highlighting the importance of educational interventions. Conclusion The study revealed that regular exercisers may have limited sports nutrition knowledge, which negatively impacts their dietary attitudes. Future research should focus on targeted nutrition education interventions to enhance knowledge and support healthier eating behaviors.