Introduction: There is an emerging focus on plant-based foods that have the added advantage of being nutritious without side effects. Besides, its preparation with nutritional awareness and culinary skills could be an effective solution for improving personal fitness. This study aimed to determine validity and reliability of a questionnaire for the development of a plant-based culinary nutrition model for fitness among sports science students. Methods: This study employed exploratory sequential mixed method design and was carried out in two phases. Phase 1 employed a qualitative design utilising modified Delphi method to determine content validity index (CVI) of the questionnaire, while phase 2 was a quantitative design using Cronbach’s alpha statistical analysis to evaluate reliability of the instrument. The questionnaire consisted of the need for plant-based culinary nutrition model (Section A) and the model’s components (Section B). Thirteen expert panels from diverse expertise in sports nutrition and 30 sports science students took part. Results: Phase 1 resulted in development of a questionnaire where Section A and Section B scored CVI of 0.834 and 1.000, respectively. For phase 2, Cronbach’s alpha score for reliability of the questionnaire was 0.836 with a total of 15 items. The Cronbach’s alpha score for questionnaire items from Sections A and B were 0.709 and 0.832, respectively. Conclusion: The questionnaire developed in this study is validated and is considered reliable for use as a significant tool for plantbased culinary nutrition among sports science students.

Introduction: Food and fitness levels are key factors required to maintain functional life. Hence, nutrition education is crucial in spreading awareness among Sports Science students. There is a paucity of plant-based nutrition knowledge and plantbased culinary skills for fitness locally. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a valid Plant-Based Culinary Nutrition Model (PBCNM) with nutrition knowledge and basic culinary skills to improve fitness among Sports Science students. Methods: This exploratory sequential mixed method study consisted of 2 phases. In Phase 1, a three-round modified Delphi method was conducted with 13 experts to generate a questionnaire that was validated. Lawshe worksheet determined the content validity ratio (CVR) for an item. Content validity index (CVI) for each section and the overall instrument was calculated. In Phase 2, quantitative data collection and analysis addressed the research questions and research gaps leading to model development. A total of 271 undergraduate Sports Science students at higher learning institutions were recruited as respondents. Results: In Phase 1, CVR of the overall survey was 1.0 and CVI was 0.834. Subsequently, the questionnaire was pilot tested for reliability and a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.836 was obtained for the overall questionnaire. In Phase 2, the respondents’ mean and standard deviation score for the model’s components and needs was 4.21±0.73 for items 1-15. The integration of experts’ perspectives on the need of PBCNM for fitness and feedback from respondents resulted in the development of PBCNM. Conclusion: This study highlighted PBCNM as a helpful guideline for better fitness management.

Sports drinks consist of water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes specially formulated for athletes or individuals in need. However, coaches from the National Coaching Academy division experience budget constraints to obtain commercial sports drinks on a large scale to meet the needs of all athletes. Therefore, an experimental study was conducted to produce a low-cost isotonic sports drink (Rose Lemonade) with white sugar and brown sugar and evaluate its acceptance among university students through sensory evaluation. This study involved 50 panels with 25 students from UKM (nonathletes) and 25 students from UM (athletes). The overall acceptance of brown sugar Rose Lemonade has an average score of 3.52 ± 0.97 compared to white sugar Rose Lemonade, which is 3.50 ± 1.07. The data analysis showed a nonsignificant difference in the Kruskal Wallis test (p>0.05) for the overall acceptance of both types of sports drinks. In conclusion, this study showed that both white sugar and brown sugar Rose Lemonade isotonic sports drink formulations were acceptable to the panels. The findings of this study provide the formulation of cheap, and easy-making sports drinks. A suggestion for future research is to test the effectiveness of energy supply and electrolytes replacement and shelf life of this sports drink and produce a variety of flavors to meet individual tastes.