Good eating habits, which include sufficient energy intake and appropriate distribution of macronutrients, are important factors in achieving success of top-level athletes. That way athletes can cover their energy needs, maintain appropriate body mass, prevent injuries, and the occurrence of overtraining. The aim of the master thesis was to examine the eating habits and to evaluate nutritional intake of top-level Slovenian handball players, as well as to compare the results with the recommendations of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN). In the first part of our research, we obtained the information about their eating habits with the help of a questionnaire adapted from the Food Frequency Questionnaire and EU Menu questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled out by 99 handball players from clubs that were ranked in one of the first six places in the Slovenian First League (men’s handball) during the 2018/2019 season. In the second part, we evaluated the dietary intake by the 7-day food diary method using the computer program Open Platform for Clinical Nutrition. The diary was filled out by 11 handball players who participated in the first part of the research. The results of eating habits showed that half of the handball players have 4 meals per day. On weekdays, 57% of handball players eat breakfast, while 78% have breakfast on weekends. 93% of handball players have lunch and 88% have dinner every day, while on weekends (both days) 99% of handball players have lunch and 98% have dinner. The results of the evaluation of the food diaries showed that the average daily energy intake of handball players was too low by 4129.5 kJ ± 2045.2 kJ (978.9 kcal ± 489.3 kcal). Energy intake of protein (20.7%) was in line with the ISSN recommendations, the proportion of the fat intake (35.0%) was too high, and carbohydrate intake (44.4%) was too low. The research showed that the diet of handball players is not in line with the recommendations, therefore it is appropriate to introduce nutritional interventions in Slovenian handball clubs.
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