Objective: Purpose: The nature of Taekwondo is both anaerobic and aerobic. The movements alone are anaerobic and the fighting time of 3 rounds of two minutes with 1 minute rest between each round and repeating the fight on the day of the competition is aerobic in nature. Sports performance is not only affected by a training program, but also several factors are involved, of which nutrition is undoubtedly one of the most effective. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the science and nutritional habits of elite taekwondo athletes (boys and girls) in Abhar city.
Methodology: The statistical population of the present study consisted of all young Taekwondo athletes of Abhar city participating in city competitions. Of these, 200 people were randomly selected as a statistical sample. The data collection tool was a three-part questionnaire (personal characteristics, nutrition science of athletes and eating habits) of Kendrick et al. In order to analyze the data, SPSS 22 software and independent t-tests, one-sample t-tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient were analyzed.
Findings: The results showed that there is no significant difference in nutritional science between Taekwondo girls and boys, p=0.64, but there is a significant difference in eating habits between Taekwondo girls and boys. So that boys are more influenced by eating habits than girls (p = 0.03). Also, there is a significant positive relationship between nutritional habits and nutritional science.
Conclusion: It seems that the nutritional science of taekwondo girls and boys in Abhar city is the same. However, boys are more affected by eating habits than girls. Also, with the increase in nutritional awareness, the nutritional habits of male and female taekwondo players improve.