Abstract

Badminton is an “intermittent” racquet sport, requiring technical skill and sport-specific-fitness. This study aimed to assess the nutritional knowledge of badminton players to shape the delivery of future support, and to facilitate fuelling and recovery strategies. In addition, the suitability and safety of current supplementation practices was assessed amongst these players. A dietary questionnaire on nutritional knowledge and supplement use was administered online to 26 players on the GB Badminton Squad. The questionnaire was comprised of the following sections; 1) awareness of dietary recommendations; 2) knowledge of food sources of nutrients; 3) making practical food choices; 4) awareness of diet-disease associations; and (5) knowledge of antioxidant vitamins. Players scored 71% on awareness of dietary recommendations, 62% on knowledge of food sources of nutrients, and 68% on using knowledge to make food choices. However, the group scored far lower on the technical questions regarding disease-associations and antioxidants (48% and 18%, respectively). The group scored highest on questions mentioning sugar, and lower for questions mentioning fat (73% vs 55%, p=0.01). Although 24 athletes (92.3%) were aware of the “100% ME” initiative, and the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances, 10 athletes (39%) considered their knowledge of “supplement safety”, as only capable of scoring of 1 or 2 out of 5. Future education should use this awareness of healthy eating and knowledge of carbohydrate and protein to shape educational strategies on fuelling and recovery, whilst strategies should also focus on increasing athletes’ knowledge of “supplement safety”.