@article{3121154,
    title = "Nutritional habits and knowledge in elite and professional basketball players",
    author = "Kostopoulos, N. and Zacharakis, E. and Bolatoglou, T. and Kostopoulos, P. and Ktistakis, I. and Xirouchaki, C.E.",
    journal = "Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche",
    year = "2020",
    volume = "179",
    number = "5",
    pages = "335-341",
    publisher = "Edizioni Minerva Medica",
    doi = "10.23736/S0393-3660.19.04068-3",
    keywords = "adult;  analysis of variance;  article;  attitude;  basketball player;  competition;  controlled study;  data analysis software;  education;  feeding behavior;  female;  human;  human experiment;  male;  nutritional assessment;  wellbeing",
    abstract = "BACKGROUND: The role of nutrition is very crucial on both the performance and the well-being of both elite and professional athletes as well as the general non-athlete physically active population. The adequate knowledge in terms of nutrition and the application of this knowledge in the athlete's diet to achieve a well-balanced dietary plan for optimal performance is critical in sports. The aim of the current study was to investigate the nutritional habits and the knowledge of Greek elite and professional basketball athletes compared with age- and sex-matched physically active general population. METHODS: Personal and physiological characteristics as well as a record of nutritional habits and knowledge regarding nutrition were collected from male Greek, elite (N.=57) and professional (N.=69) basketball players [experimental groups] and from non-athlete, physically active age- and sex-matched individuals [control group] (N.=17). All the data was acquired during the competition period. The statistical analysis of the results was conducted via descriptive statistics, Student's t-tests and one-way ANOVA using GraphPad Prism 7 software. RESULT S: The results of the current study highlight that there is a knowledge gap regarding nutrition among elite and professional basketball players as well as general population. However, the results suggest that in most of the parameters, there are not any significant differences between the elite and the professional players but there is significant difference between the experimental groups (basketball players) and the general population (control group). CONCLUSIONS: Further education is required regarding nutrition in order to lead to improved attitudes, optimal performance and general well-being. ©2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA."
}