Relationship between sleep quality, nutrition habits and body composition: A study on young athletes

Abstract

Background: Adequate sleep, balanced nutrition, and optimal body composition are essential components that support health, recovery, and athletic performance in young athletes. Understanding how these factors interact is crucial for developing individualized strategies that aim to improve both overall well-being and sport-specific outcomes. Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationships between attitudes towards healthy nutrition, sleep characteristics, and body composition in young athletes. Method: The research used a correlational survey design, involving 33 volunteer athletes (16 women, 17 men) aged 18-23 who regularly participated in sports. Data were collected through the “Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating Scale,” “Smartwatch Sleep Tracking,” and “Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA).” The Shapiro–Wilk test confirmed normal distribution. An independent-samples t-test was used for gender comparisons, and Pearson's correlation analysis was employed to examine relationships among variables (α = 0.05). Results: Male athletes had significantly higher BMI and muscle mass than female athletes, whereas female athletes had a higher percentage of fat mass (p < 0.05). Significant negative correlations were found between healthy eating attitude scores and weight, BMI, and muscle mass; attitude scores were also negatively correlated with breathing quality (p < 0.05). Light sleep showed a positive correlation with total nighttime sleep, whereas light sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep, and breathing quality showed significant negative relationships. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that young athletes’ attitudes towards healthy eating may be associated with body composition indicators and that specific sleep components may be linked to physiological parameters. It emphasizes the importance of considering sleep, healthy eating habits, and body composition together and suggests that personalized lifestyle support programs may positively influence health and performance.