The Relationship between Food Consumption and Nutritional Status of Male Junior Athletes: A Cross Sectional Study in Sumedang

Excessive percentage of body fat as well as total energy, macronutrients, micronutrients and insufficient fluid intake with the athlete's dietary recommendations in practice can lead to poor nutritional status of athletes that affects their performance and fitness level. This descriptive study used a cross-sectional method which was carried out for 2 months in July-August 2022 with a sample of 62 male junior athletes in Sumedang, West Java. Research data were analyzed using the chi-square test to see the relationship between variables. The results showed that the average calorie intake for athletes was 2 218.8 Kcal with a percentage of 91.9% male junior athletes having less consumption. More than half (80.6%) of male junior athletes have poor nutritional status. The results of the chi square analysis showed that there was no significant relationship (p<0.05) between food consumption and the nutritional status of male junior athletes. It can be concluded that athletes need to increase food consumption and nutritional status in the normal category. Professional nutrition assistance can be used as a solution to increase appropriate food consumption according to dietary recommendations for each sport and normal nutritional status in a good way.