Determination of athlete nutrition knowledge level of university students

The aim of the study is to determine the athlete nutrition knowledge level of the students educated at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University School of Physical Education and Sports. A total of 286 students, 156 male, and 130 female, between the ages of 18-25 participated in the study voluntarily. The Sports Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (NSKQ) was used to determine the athletes' nutrition knowledge levels of the students. The Independent T-test was used to compare the groups, and the One-Way ANOVA test was used to determine the difference between the departments. As a result of the analysis, both men and women were in the weak knowledge group in the classification of nutritional knowledge. No difference was found in the comparison of the nutritional knowledge scores according to the gender variable. In the comparison of the nutritional knowledge scores according to the status of taking a nutrition course, a significant difference was determined for both the total score and the sub-variables (weight control, macronutrients, micronutrients, sports nutrition, supplement, alcohol), and it was determined that the difference was in favor of the students who took the nutrition course. It was determined that this difference was in favor of the students who took nutrition lessons. It was also determined that there was a significant difference in the sub-dimension of macronutrients in the comparison of sports nutrition knowledge scores according to the departments, and the difference was in favor of the department of recreation. When comparing the nutritional knowledge scores of male and female students according to the department variable, it was determined that there was a difference in the sub-dimension of macronutrients and this difference was in favor of the department of recreation in men and in favor of teaching department students in women. As a result, it was revealed that the nutritional knowledge level of the students in the School of Physical Education and Sports was weak. In their professional lives, it is thought that increasing the hours of compulsory nutrition lessons will be beneficial for education to be at the desired level in nutrition. ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. Özet Çalışmanın amacı Hatay Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yüksekokulunda (BESYO) eğitime-öğrenim gören öğrencilerin sporcu beslenme bilgi düzeylerinin belirlenmesidir. Çalışmaya 18-25 yaş arası 156 erkek, 130 kadın olmak üzere toplam 286 öğrenci, gönüllü olarak katılmıştır. Öğrencilerin sporcu beslenme bilgi düzeylerinin belirlenmesi için Sporcu Beslenme Bilgisi Ölçeği (SBBÖ) kullanılmıştır. Grupların karşılaştırılmasında Independent T testi, bölümler arasında farkın belirlemesinde ise One Way ANOVA testi kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonucunda hem erkekler hem de kadınlar beslenme bilgi sınıflandırılmasında zayıf bilgi grubunda yer almışlardır. Cinsiyet değişkenine göre beslenme bilgi puanlarının karşılaştırılmasında fark saptanmamıştır. Beslenme bilgi puanlarının beslenme dersi alma durumuna göre karşılaştırılmasında, hem toplam puan hem de alt değişkenler (ağırlık kontrolü, makro besin öğeleri, mikro besin öğeleri, sporcu beslenmesi, supleman, alkol) için anlamlı fark belirlenmiş, farkın beslenme dersi alan öğrenciler lehine olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bölümlere göre sporcu beslenme bilgi puan karşılaştırılmasında makro besin öğeleri alt boyutunda anlamlı fark olduğu farkın rekreasyon bölümü lehine olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Erkek ve kadın öğrencilerin bölüm değişkenine göre beslenme bilgi puan karşılaştırılmasında makro besin öğeleri alt boyutunda fark olduğu farkın erkeklerde rekreasyon kadınlarda ise öğretmenlik bölümü öğrencileri lehine olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, BESYO’da öğrencilerin beslenme bilgi düzeylerinin zayıf olduğu, mesleki hayatlarında beslenme konusunda istenilen seviyelerde olmaları için zorunlu beslenme dersi saatlerinin arttırılmasının eğitime faydalı olacağı düşünülmektedir.

Associations between level of interest in nutrition, knowledge of nutrition, and prevalence of orthorexia traits among undergraduate students

Background: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is an unhealthy obsession wit “proper”, “clean”, or “healthful” eating that can potentially lead to serious physical, psychological, and social impairments. Aim: We aimed to examine associations between level of interest in nutrition, knowledge of nutrition, and prevalence of orthorexia traits in a population of college students enrolled in a general education nutrition course. Methods: Of the 579 students enrolled in the class during Spring semester of 2018, 221 (38%) completed an online survey. The survey was completed during weeks 8–9 of the 15-week semester. Results: The average nutrition knowledge score was 8.7 out of 12 (standard deviation (SD) 1.4, range 0–12). The average of the summed 29 orthorexia traits was 63.4 (SD 12.4; range = 41–102); lower scores indicated less agreeance with practicing ON behaviors. The degree of interest in the subject of nutrition was positively associated with prevalence of orthorexia traits (r = 0.43, p < 0.0001), but not nutrition knowledge ( p > 0.05). Nutrition knowledge was inversely associated with prevalence of orthorexia traits (r = −0.19, p = 0.005). No associations were found between age, sex, year in school, or BMI and orthorexia traits. Conclusions: Interest in nutrition is associated with increased prevalence of orthorexia traits, however, higher levels of nutrition knowledge are associated with decreased prevalence of orthorexia traits. Additional studies should further examine these associations in prospective studies of nutrition/dietetics students as they progress in their programs and gain additional knowledge of nutrition.

SUMMATIVE EVALUATION SCORE IN HALAL NUTRITION COURSE: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN REPORT AND WRITTEN TEST

Summative assessment is a type of assessment that is commonly used in the teaching and learning process of an academic course. Nevertheless, the variety of summative assessment methods prevalently exhibits different levels of achievement. The objective of this study was to compare academic achievement scores involving summative assessment in halal nutrition courses. The study involved final year students of a halal nutrition course at the diploma level (n = 65) at Universiti Teknologi MARA. Statistical comparisons through t-test was made using IBM SPSS Statistics software. The results of the analysis showed significant differences in the Written Report (M = 24.02, SD = 2.32) compared to the Written Test (M = 23.22, SD = 2.53) with; t(64) = 1.999, ρ = 0.05. In conclusion, this study suggests that the achievement of the Written Report is higher than the Written Test is due to the support of ICT as an online learning facility.

Integrated Nutrition and Culinary Education in Response to Food Insecurity in a Public University

Food insecurity is an emerging issue for college students. A nutrition course with an integrated teaching kitchen was developed to address this issue at a large public university. We aimed to determine changes in food insecurity and stress among students who took the course. The course consisted of weekly lectures followed by teaching kitchen lab sessions to teach basic nutrition and culinary concepts and expose students to hands-on skill development cooking experiences. Using a pre-post design, enrolled students completed an anonymous online survey at the beginning and the end of the semester. Food security was assessed with the USDA Six-Item Food Security Module; stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Pre- and post-data were linked for 171 participants. Paired data statistical analysis comparing the post- vs. the pre-test showed an increase in food security and a decrease in very low security rates (from 48% to 70%, and from 23% to 6%, respectively; p < 0.0001), and a decrease on the average PSS score, indicating lower stress (from (Mean ± SD) 19.7 ± 5.9 to 18.1 ± 6.0; p = 0.0001). A nutrition and culinary course may be an effective response to food insecurity and could potentially improve students’ wellbeing.