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The role of nutrition in maintaining the health and physical condition of sports volunteers
Maintaining health and physical fitness, particularly for highly active people like athletes, depends heavily on nutrition. It is reasonable to suppose that volunteers and other individuals who carry out physically taxing duties during the planning of athletic events should also be aware of their diet. Despite extensive research on the significance of nutrition for athletes, little is known about how nutrition impacts sports volunteers. Volunteers frequently experience varied degrees of emotional and physical stress, which might affect their dietary requirements. In-depth individual interviews (IDIs) were conducted with 17 sports volunteers with prior experience planning various athletic events as part of this qualitative study by Rozmiarek (2024). Participants were chosen based on specific criteria, including at least two years of experience in sports volunteering and involvement in events of various sizes. The interviews aimed to learn about their eating patterns, level of nutritional knowledge, and how nutrition impacts their fitness and overall health. Due to their hectic schedules and lack of time, most participants did not prioritize their nutrition and frequently made haphazard meal choices. Few volunteers made intentional dietary changes when they expected to do physically taxing chores as part of their volunteer work. Most volunteers relied on less reliable sources, such as blogs or social media, for nutritional information rather than credible sources. According to this study, a large number of sports volunteers are unaware of how their food affects their fitness and health. Nutritional education is needed to improve understanding of the value of a balanced diet, especially in light of increased physical activity. Additionally, better nutritional support should be provided during sporting events, and volunteers should be encouraged to use trustworthy sources of information about healthy eating. [NPID: Diet, dietary habits, energy intake, health, nutrition, nutritional education, physical conditions, sport, volunteer management, volunteering]
Year: 2024
