PhD project The project aims to study how Swedish elite sport pupils in upper secondary school handle the increased energy and nutritional needs caused by their high level of physical activity, and how the elite sport schools and teachers in the subject Special sports support the pupils.
Eating enough and nutritious food is central in a sports context to maintain health and improve performance in relation to training and competition. For young, growing elite athletes, food is of special importance. To be able to make good choices and meet energy and nutritional needs, food literacy is required. The concept can be described as a complex mix of food-related knowledge, skills and behaviors. For the young elite athletes, who often move to their own accommodation, managing food and cooking can be particular challenging.
Today, little is known about the elite sport pupils' everyday food lives, their food literacy and potential problem areas linked to the food situation. The education related to food and nutrition takes place within the upper secondary school subject Special sports. However, knowledge about the teaching in the subject is limited.
The study is based on a mixed methods approach. Two national surveys have been performed; one with pupils (n=7 993) in 2023 and one with teachers in Special sports (n=216) in 2024. Interviews with pupils are planned ahead.
