Cuestionario de conocimientos nutricionales aplicados en el deporte: Propuesta inicial de instrumento

Abstract

Nutritional knowledge plays a fundamental role in the formation of dietary habits and the modulation of eating behaviour. Nutrition and diet are crucial during adolescence, especially for young athletes. The purpose of this research was to analyse the theoretical validity and indices of discrimination and difficulty of the questionnaire on nutritional knowledge applied in sports using item response theory in youth athletes aged 14 to 19. This instrumental study was conducted in five phases: item generation, expert panel review, pilot testing, application, and final refinement. A total of 261 adolescents aged 14 to 19, who were members of national team and collective disciplines of professional clubs, participated. Difficulty and discrimination indices were determined for each item. Items 1 (0.354) and 2 (0.285) of the before factor, 3 (0.315) and 6 (0.408) of the during factor, 7 (0.354) and 10 (0.408) of the post factor, 3 (0.254) and 9 (0.231) of the hydration factor, and 2 (0.362) and 5 (0.323) of the supplementation factor showed the highest degree of discrimination. The questionnaire on nutritional knowledge applied in sports consists of 30 items divided into five factors, each with six items. The initial questionnaire proposal is a theoretically valid tool and with adequate difficulty and discrimination indices to evaluate nutritional knowledge in young athletes. Its application allows for identifying potential gaps in key knowledge and designing specific educational strategies to address them.