Nutritional Status, Diet Quality and Levels of Anxiety During Training and Match Day in Turkish Super League Male Water Polo Players

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the relationship between the anxiety levels of the players playing in the Men‘s Water Polo Turkish First Division (known as Super League) teams at different periods and their nutritional status, and diet quality. The study was conducted among 60 players who professionally play water polo at different sports clubs. In order to determine the anxiety levels of the players at different time periods, the Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT-A) was applied to the players on two different days. To evaluate the players’ nutritional status, 2 days of food consumption were recorded, 1 day for training and the other for match day. The quality of the players’ diet was evaluated using the Healthy Eating Index -2010. The players’ anxiety (SCAT-A scores) on the match day was found to be higher than on the training day (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between the players’ anxiety levels on training and match days and the diet quality components nor total Healty Eating Index (HEI-2010) scores on either day (p>0.05). Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between anxiety levels experienced by players at different times and nutritional status and diet quality.