Introduction

  Sports and health go hand in hand. Due to its importance in preserving a person's physical health, nutrition plays a crucial part in the world of sports. The primary prerequisite for good health, functional effectiveness, and productivity is a proper diet. When it comes to their nutritional needs, athletes should be treated as a particular category since they need to maintain an ideal level of nutrition to perform at their best. Youth athletes' nutritional requirements are greater due to their increased physical activity and growth. A mix of factors, including training, body composition, and nutrition, contribute to optimal athletic performance. (2013) Deneswar The best nutrition is necessary for an athlete who engages in muscular exercise in order to perform physically well. Athletes' performance during a competition may be improved if their nutritional demands are met, which may also help them maximise the benefits of their training and maintain good health. Food and nutrition have a significant impact on an athlete's performance. According to studies (Mahalakshmi 2012), athletes are generally uninformed about nutrition, healthy food options, the elements of a well-balanced diet, and how nutrition affects performance. As a result, nutrition has a big impact on an athlete's total performance. Long-term health and vitality are also benefited by dietary habits that enhance athletic performance. In order to maintain a healthy body composition and balance of essential nutrients, an athlete's optimum diet must be event-specific and personalised for each individual. Optimal nutrition is a critical requirement for peak athletic performance. It has been demonstrated that combining carbs with proteins or amino acids greatly speeds up recovery after strenuous exercise. Without eating the correct nutrients in the right amounts, endurance athletes wouldn't be able to put out the demanding and exhausting efforts they frequently do. The fuel and nutrients the body needs to perform at its peak are provided by the food and water athletes take before and after exercise.The main dietary goal for active individuals is to obtain adequate nutrition to optimize health and fitness or sports performance. [Berning 2000] This is not only important to help to improve performance but also to promote healthy dietary practices in the long term [Jonnalagadda 2001]There is no dispute that the most effective way of enhancing athletic performance is through systematic and consistent training.

Bench press, front squat, standing wide jump, and the hundred-meter test were used as physical endurance indicators to evaluate each respondent's performance. BMI was calculated based on anthropometric measurements, which are a trustworthy indicator of growth and development and for identifying mild to severe malnutrition in each patient. Moreover, the waist-to-hip ratio was determined. The cyanmethaemoglobin technique was used to estimate the haemoglobin content of all the samples. In order to learn more about dietary consumption patterns, specific foods eaten, and inferred nutrient intake, all of the samples were processed using the 24-hour dietary recall survey approach. Using a straightforward questionnaire, the samples' nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and practises were evaluated. The major goal of the study was to determine the effectiveness of nutrition education. Attitude was expanded to cover the roles of numerous nutrients and their deficiencies. Aspects of practise elicit information about various sportsperson practises, such as nutrient, fluid, and drug use. By establishing the score for each question, the subjects' responses were assessed using a key for all the questions. Each question received a provisional score with equal weighting. To all samples, nutrition education sessions were provided.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The study's key findings are as follows:

Table – 1

Details of mean score obtained before receiving nutrition education

Table – II

Details of mean score obtained after receiving nutrition education

Table V

Paired Comparison level of significance of practice

To determine whether there is a significant difference in the mean practice-value score before and after nutrition education, a paired T test is used. We reject the hypothesis that the mean score prior to and after the nutrition education are the same since the calculated value of T- Statistics (-33.52) falls within the critical region. Hence we conclude that there is significant difference between the practice score before and after education.

Findings

  An athlete's sporting performance is influenced

• Half of the athletes and 65% of basketball players in the samples hold positions at the state level, and 100% of the samples practiced for 4 hours per day.
• The majority of athletes favoured ice treatment and hydrotherapy as treatments for their skin wounds, which affect 70% of athletes.
• All volleyball, basketball, and other athletes warm up, cool down properly, and practice stretching to avoid injuries.
• According to the performance index of the samples, the majority (52%) could bench press between 30 and 40 kg, 58.6% could clear 2-3 meters in the standing broad jump, 30.66% could lift between 40 and 50 kg for front and equal position (34.66%), and the majority (34.66%) could complete the 10 meter race in 12 to 13 and 14 to 16 seconds, respectively. The aggregate statistics indicated that the samples barely performed at an average level.
• According to anthropometric data, the majority (95%) of respondents fit into the normal category for Body Mass Index because they had a diet that was well-balanced. 15% of athletes were overweight, while 5% were underweight.
• The athletes, who make up 10.6% of the population, are only 2.66 percent underweight and 10.6 percent overweight.
• While the majority of the samples had a normal waist-hip ratio, 10% of the athletes had a value that was above average and correlated with the Body Mass Index values.
• Even though the samples' iron consumption was lower, 100% of them had normal haemoglobin levels.
• For all three groups, the intake of carbohydrates, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin c exceeded the recommended levels. Iron, fat, and total energy intake all displayed deficiency values. Whereas athletics and volleyball players showed an increased protein consumption (+13.6) while the protein intake was deficient for basketball players (-6)The total mean score on knowledge, attitude and practice of the respondents showed an increase from below average to above average level after education.

Conclusion

The findings showed that the energy, fat, and iron