Primary Diagnosis of Nutritional Status and Physical Quality of First-year Students in the Volleyball Sports Association at NIYPES

<i>Context</i>: Volleyball is a sport that demands specific physical qualities. When paired with a balanced diet, it helps optimize the athletic performance of players, especially students training at the National Institute of Physical Education and Sports in Benin. These students, particularly those in their first year, often adopt inappropriate diets due to a lack of dietary knowledge, which negatively impacts their athletic performance and health. <i>Objective</i>: This research aimed to establish the relationships between food consumption and the physical quality of first-year students in the Volleyball Sports Association. <i>Materials and methods</i>: This is an analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 23 first-year students of the Volleyball Sports Association at NIYPES from May to June 2023. The surveyed students were selected using a non-random method and the exhaustive choice technique to ensure all students meeting the inclusion criteria were selected. A questionnaire for the students, an electronic scale model CS20M (KAMTHRON, China), and a wall-mounted stadiometer (SECA, France) were used to collect data. <i>Results</i>: The results revealed that the majority (82.60%) of the students have a normal weight. However, they have limited knowledge in sports nutrition and do not adopt the recommended dietary practices for athletes. <i>Conclusion</i>: It is urgent to provide nutritional education to these students to encourage proper food consumption, which would further improve their physical quality.