The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the level of nutrition
knowledge and degree of competitiveness in high school wrestlers and their coaches
and to look at the differences between groups. Twelve schools participated in the study
and a total of 180 wrestlers and 29 coaches (12 head and 17 assistant) completed the
nutrition knowledge and Sports Orientation (competitiveness) questionnaires. The
results indicate that nutrition knowledge increases significantly with increasing age or
grade level in the athletes (p=.0001), but significant increases were not seen for each
year. The mean score for nutrition knowledge was 53.9% for the athletes and 67% for
the coaches, both very low scores overall when compared with previous research,
indicating a strong need for improved nutrition education in both populations. The
coaches' mean nutrition knowledge levels were found to increase significantly with
increasing years of coaching (p=.0001), suggesting that some knowledge is gained
through experience. Team nutrition scores varied significantly, with a range of 50 to
63%, suggesting that some schools may have higher quality nutrition education
programs than others. Results of the nutrition knowledge scores also demonstrate that
a significant similarity exists between the head coaches' nutrition score and the teams'
mean score (p=.0001), suggesting the possibility that the head coaches can have a
greater impact on their teams' level of nutrition information than can other possible
sources.
Competitiveness scores were very high for this population as compared to
previous studies completed with high school students, with the mean scores being 58.5
out of a possible 65 points for the wrestlers, and 59.4 for the coaches. Average
competitiveness scores previously seen in the high school athletic population are
approximately 20% lower than the scores found in these wrestlers, with a mean of 47.
Competitiveness was found to significantly increase with increasing years of participation
in wrestling (p=.02), but no other significant interrelationships were found to exist with
regard to competitiveness levels in this population.
There are many factors that were unable to be researched in this study due to
inconsistent weight records that were to be kept by each team. Not 1 of the 12 schools
kept consistent nor complete weight records throughout the season, making much of the
planned research impossible.
In conclusion, there exists much speculation regarding the possible
consequences of weight cutting during adolescence, especially when the perceived
benefits of the practice are not scientifically based. Research has suggested that there
are many changes that need to be considered within the sport of wrestling such as
minimal weight standards along with strict enforcement of those standards. As
demonstrated with the results of this study, nutrition knowledge is low in the wrestling
population, wrestlers and coaches alike, and therefore, additional education regarding
nutrition and unsafe weight loss practices in high-risk populations such as the high
school wrestler is needed. / Graduation date: 1996
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/27441 |
| Date | 13 September 1995 |
| Creators | Fahlstrom-Nopp, Patricia A. |
| Contributors | Leklem, James E. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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