General and sports nutrition knowledge among nutritionists in Jordan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v76.118023Keywords:
General nutrition, knowledge, nutrition specialist, sports nutritionAbstract
Introduction: Nutrition knowledge is crucial for enhancing athletes’ performance, yet few studies have examined general and sports nutrition knowledge among nutritionists.
Objective: To assess general nutrition knowledge (GNK) and sports nutrition knowledge (SNK) among Jordanian nutritionists and their association with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study used a validated questionnaire with 394 convenience-sampled participants. Appropriate statistical tests and multinomial logistic regression (SPSS v26) were applied.
Results: 6.3% of participants had poor GNK and 39.6% had poor SNK. Lower GNK was seen in males and those with diploma/bachelor’s versus females and higher-educated individuals (P = 0.022, P = 0.003). Lower SNK was linked to higher BMI (P = 0.016), diploma/bachelor’s (P = 0.001), students with no experience (P = 0.011), and individuals with a lack of regular exercise (P = 0.048).
Discussion: Our results contrast with previous research claiming all specialists have poor GNK but align with studies showing inadequate SNK.
Conclusions: Jordanian nutritionists showed fair GNK but notable SNK gaps, associated with gender, BMI, education, experience, and physical activity.
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