Prevalence Of Malnutrition Among Adolescent Football Players (15 To 18 Years) And Its Association With Their Level Of Nutritional Knowledge In Siada State

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the prevalence of malnutrition in adolescent football players aged ( 15-18 years ) in Saida state (North-western region of Algeria), and to determine the relationship between the nutritional status and the level of nutritional knowledge of these players. We used a descriptive method, on 142 adolescent players, we applied some anthropometric measurements (weight, height, and body mass index) to measure nutritional status, and a questionnaire, to assess nutritional knowledge, after analyzing data using the SPSS version 22, the results showed that malnutrition, specifically undernutrition was still a problem for adolescent football players, and this problem was significantly related to the player's level of nutritional knowledge. On this basis, The study recommended that paying more attention to the nutritional status of adolescent players and strengthening their nutritional knowledge could help remarkably to improve the health and the performance of these players in the future.