Physical performance and overall health are crucial in the athletic population, and their improvement relies on specific dietary guidelines and practices. Athletes and physical activity practitioners who participate in physical activity for specific health reasons need nutritional knowledge to improve physical performance. This study aimed to understand nutrient intake and nutritional knowledge among physical activity practitioners and athletes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study sampled 263 individuals divided into two groups: athletes (n = 121) and practitioners (n = 142). Their nutritional knowledge and dietary intake were measured with validated questionnaires: the Arabic Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire and the Saudi Food Frequency Questionnaire. The majority of the sample (77.2%) had poor nutritional knowledge. Highest scoring domains for the dietary intake were protein from meat, fish, chicken (65.6%), vegetarian protein (62.4%), grains (51.0%), and the lowest were vegetables (41.1%), dairy (36.3%), and fruits (27.9%). In conclusion, athletes and practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have poor nutritional knowledge and dietary intake and may benefit from nutritional education and training to improve their knowledge, dietary intake, and performance.

Background: A balanced diet and active lifestyle are key factors influencing health and quality of life (QoL). This study examined the relationships between eating patterns, physical activity, and QoL among Arab healthcare professionals.Methodology: A cross-sectional study included 353 healthcare workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, where participants were briefed on the study objectives and provided voluntary informed consent. The WHOQOL-BREF tool was used to evaluate QoL, while the Rapid Diet Quality Screener assessed dietary habits. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to measure physical activity. Statistical analysis included independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation.Results: Among participants, 47.6% had a normal weight, 44.7% were overweight or obese, and 7.6% were underweight. While those with normal weight had the highest QoL scores across all domains, differences across BMI categories were not statistically significant. Regular physical activity was linked to high QoL, particularly in social relationships (p = 0.037). Participants who exercised regularly also reported healthier eating habits (p < 0.001). Weak but significant positive correlations were found between diet quality and QoL, particularly physical health (r = 0.219, p < 0.001) and psychological health (r = 0.184, p = 0.002). No significant diet quality differences were found between genders (p = 0.677).Conclusion: Healthcare professionals who exercise regularly exhibit a better QoL, especially in social relationships, and maintain healthier eating habits. While normal BMI was associated with improved QoL, differences across BMI categories were not statistically significant. These findings highlight the need for interventions promoting physical activity and healthy eating to enhance QoL in healthcare workers.

Background: Disordered eating among athletes and physical activity practitioners is a growing concern that can negatively impact health and performance. Understanding the prevalence and predictors of disordered eating in these populations is essential for developing effective interventions. Objective: To investigate disordered eating tendencies among athletes and physical activity practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Participants from five athletic clubs and six fitness centers were surveyed. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire that included the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (ANSKQ), and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Anthropometric data were also collected. The study comprised a sample of 263 individuals, who were divided into two groups: athletes (n = 121) and physical activity practitioners (n = 142). Results: The average age of the participants was 26.41 years with a standard deviation of 8.1 years. Females comprised nearly two thirds of the sample, representing 60.8% of the participants. Physical activity practitioners exhibited higher disordered eating scores compared to athletes. The total EAT-26 scores were significantly higher in practitioners (15.63 ± 4.12) than in athletes (13.21 ± 3.89; p < 0.001). Subscale scores for Dieting (8.95 ± 2.73 vs. 7.49 ± 2.58; p = 0.001) and Bulimia (3.32 ± 1.15 vs. 2.20 ± 1.03; p < 0.001) were also higher in practitioners. BMI was a significant predictor of higher total EAT-26 scores and its subsets, indicating a greater risk of disordered eating behaviors in individuals with higher BMI. Participants with lower levels of sports nutritional knowledge and those engaging in low-intensity physical activities were more likely to exhibit disordered eating tendencies. Conclusions: The findings highlight that physical activity practitioners are at a higher risk of disordered eating compared to athletes. Addressing BMI and improving nutritional knowledge are key strategies for preventing and managing disordered eating behaviors in physically active populations. Interventions targeting these areas may enhance health outcomes and performance among athletes and practitioners.

Compulsive exercise is a condition characterized by uncontrollable exercise behaviour that may lead to severe and harmful physical and psychological consequences. Indeed, compulsive exercise is among the early symptoms of eating disorders that may affect different age groups. Globally and among Arab countries, compulsive exercise is common, while the screening methods used to assess compulsive exercise are limited. Thus, the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) has emerged as a tool to assess cognitive, behavioural, and emotional factors related to compulsive exercise. The CET is a self-report, Likert-type scale comprising five distinct subscales. The increase in the CET scores is more likely associated with worsened pathology. Since the Arab countries lack such an assessment tool, we aimed to translate the CET into Arabic, validate the translated version, confirm the factor structures, and assess the internal consistency of the different subscales. Herein, we used the forward–backward translation method as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The overall validity index of the translated version showed a score higher than 0.78, while the scale-level content validity index based on the average calculating method (S-CVI/Ave) and the agreement method (S-CVI/UA) were 0.91 and 0.58, respectively. Moreover, we recruited 399 Arabs living in Saudi to measure the internal consistency, and the value of the substantive internal consistency with Cronbach’s α was 0.81. Subsequently, four of the Arabic-CET subscales had substantive internal consistency with Cronbach’s α values higher than or equal to 0.70. Furthermore, the exploratory factor analysis results supported the substantial use of the five-subscale model. Taken together, our study supports using the Arabic-CET version to measure exercise compulsiveness among Arabs.