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Adequate nutrition knowledge forms the foundation for optimal physical health and performance. In Lebanon, there are limited studies on the effect of nutrition knowledge on the athletes’ performance. This study aims to evaluate university athletes’ nutrition knowledge status and to identify the factors predicting athletes’ performance.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 384 university student-athletes, using a validated tool with modifications (Furber et al., 2017) to assess nutrition knowledge. The modified questionnaire includes seven subsections (vitamins and minerals, general nutrition, fluid, fat, carbohydrate, protein and sporting performance). Further, anthropometric measurements were taken; body composition was determined by the bioelectrical impedance analysis method. Handgrip strength, as an indirect measure of athlete performance, was assessed with the hand dynamometer. To measure the existence and degree of significance among different variables, Pearson correlation coefficients, χ² and linear regression were used.

The health group had a higher level of nutritional knowledge, compared with the non-health group. The overall mean sports nutrition knowledge score for the student-athletes was 63.54%, which was considered inadequate sports nutrition knowledge (mean < 75%). Further, athletes’ performance was significantly predicted by the resting metabolic rate, lean muscle mass and weight.

The findings may help the university administration to implement a nutrition education program for athletes enrolled in non-health majors. Information gained serve to help dietetics professionals in Lebanon refine education strategies and sports clubs in universities to start to budget for hiring dietitians.

In the presence of limited financial resources, developing countries such as Lebanon often allocate small budgets to the sports sector. Even more, the Lebanese Government lacks a strategic approach that is necessary for any nation to achieve elite sport success. This study aims to assess the motivations and barriers that impact Lebanese athletes’ achievements at the Olympics by addressing the factors that affect such participation. Two main aspects were put into the study: lack of governmental support and sponsorship.

This study examines the barriers that hinder achievement by Lebanese Olympians in their International participation with an emphasis on the factors that affect their performance whether positively or negatively. The methodology consisted of a set of survey questions filled by 50 Lebanese athletes and 4 interviews conducted with Lebanese Olympians to make use of their experience and insight regarding such barriers and how to best boost motivation among young and potential talent.

The findings shed light on the limited Lebanese Olympic participation; out of the 17 participation (226 Olympians in total), only 4 Olympians won medals for the country; the past victory was 38 years ago. The reasons as reached are mainly due to the lack of government support and the inability of athletes to secure-related sponsors. Specifically, a lack of governmental support has a negative correlation with athletes’ achievements in international contests. Moreover, the inability of athletes to secure the financial support, in the form of sponsorship, necessary for the training, preparation and all the way to participation.

The study revealed a lack of active participation from the government in nurturing skill and elevating talented athletes’ chance to achieve in the Olympics. The main factor that this study was able to identify is the lack of an official body to manage the nurturing, training, financial support up to participation of the athletes in the international events.

The study highlighted the importance of training camps and consistent improvement to performance. While these two require extensive investment and devotion, athletes on their own cannot afford to fulfill the requirements without the support of the government; the latter being almost absent.

The insights provided through this study address the importance of sponsorship and government support in athletes’ achievements. It shed light on areas that are nonexistent for the Lebanese case and provided practical recommendations that if applied, would increase the chances of Lebanon in competing effectively in the international arena.

This study aims to assess nutrition knowledge (NK) and willingness to seek nutritional counseling (WSNC) and their predictors among university students in Lebanon.

A cross-sectional design was used to enroll students from two large private universities in Lebanon. Data were collected by a standardized questionnaire. NK scores on general and specific nutrition areas were computed. The predictors of NK and WSNC were determined by multivariable logistic regression analyses.

A total of 370 students were included, among which 68% had good general nutritional knowledge, which appears to be associated with being a pharmacy student (adjusted OR (aOR) = 4.26 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.55; 11.7]), and having a dietitian as a reference for nutritional information (aOR = 8.84 [95% CI 1.94; 40.3]). However, 64% of participants had a high specific nutritional knowledge score, which was related to either attending a school of arts and sciences or being a pharmacy student (aOR = 10.8 [95% CI 4.08; 28.5]). Most students (80%) had the will to seek nutritional counseling, which was positively associated with being a female (aOR = 2.01 [95% CI 1.10; 3.67]) and a pharmacy student (aOR = 2.62 [95% CI 1.15; 5.95]). The general nutritional knowledge score was significantly associated with the WSNC (aOR = 2.10 [95% CI 1.04; 4.25]).

Higher nutritional knowledge and WSNC were found among students enrolled in health-related fields. These results underline how important nutrition education is as a strategy for inspiring college students to adopt healthy lifestyles.

Predatory publishing is a growing and global issue infecting all scientific domains. Predatory publishers create counterfeit, not (properly) peer-reviewed journals to exploit the open access (OA) model in which the author pays. The plethora of predatory marketing journals along with the sophisticated deceptive practices of their publishers may create total confusion. One of the many highly likely risks of that bewilderment is when peer-reviewed, prestigious marketing journals cite these pseudo-marketing journals. This phenomenon is called citation contamination. This study aims to investigate the extent of citation contamination in the peer-reviewed marketing literature.

Using Google Scholar as a citation gathering tool, this study investigates references to four predatory marketing journals in 68 peer-reviewed marketing journals listed in the 2018 version of the Academic Journal Guide by the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABSs).

Results indicate that 59 of the 68 CABS-ranked peer-reviewed marketing journals were, up to late January 2021, contaminated by at least one of the four sampled predatory journals. Together, these four pseudo-journals received (at least) 605 citations. Findings from nonparametric statistical procedures show that citation contamination occurred irrespective of the age of a journal or its 2019 Journal Impact Factor (JIF). They also point out that citation contamination happened independently from the fact that a journal is recognized by Clarivate Analytics or not.

This study investigated citations to only four predatory marketing journals in only 68 CABS-listed peer-reviewed marketing journals.

These findings should sound an alarm to the entire marketing community (including academics and practitioners). To counteract citation contamination, recommendations are provided for researchers, practitioners, journal editors and academic and professional associations.

This study is the first to offer a systematic assessment of references to predatory journals in the peer-reviewed marketing literature.

This study aims to assess the nutritional status and physical fitness status of school children among major ethnic and Dalit populations, in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to mothers or caregivers of the children, followed by physical fitness assessments. Anthropometric indicators were used to evaluate nutritional status, including body mass index-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height, based on Centre for Disease Control guidelines. Physical fitness was assessed through tests for flexibility, abdominal, muscular, speed, and lower limb strength. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.

Approximately 45% of boys and 55% of girls had normal nutritional status. However, the study also identified varying percentages of children with stunted, underweight, wasted, and mixed nutritional issues, highlighting the prevalence of malnutrition among this population. Boys consistently outperformed girls in terms of physical fitness across all age groups, with 84% to 90% of boys meeting established fitness criteria. Girls face a 1.8-fold and 2.2-fold increased risk of wasted and underweight conditions compared to boys. Lower-income group children exhibit a 2.6-fold and 1.6-fold increased risk of wasted conditions and underweight conditions. Children consuming meals twice a day have a 2.1-fold and 2.5-fold elevated risk of wasted and underweight conditions compared to others.

This study highlights the need for interventions and strategies to improve the nutritional and health status of ethnic children in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, considering their diverse dietary habits and lifestyles. By addressing these issues, the authors can empower these communities to actively contribute to the social and economic development of the region.

This paper seeks to build understanding of the evaluation of sponsorships involving high human mortality risk. Examples of risky sponsees are presented, with two assessed as in-depth case studies. Based on this research, a sponsorship evaluation framework for sponsors is presented that includes: sponsee selection, risk management, strategic tactics, contingency planning, contract elements and post-contract tactics.

The development and commerce of functional foods (FF) is complex, expensive and risky. Besides technological obstacles and legislative aspects, consumer demands also need to be considered. The purpose of this study is to assess the Lebanese consumer’s knowledge, attitudes and acceptance of FF and functional ingredients.

A cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of adults living in Mount Lebanon in 2015. An interviewer-based questionnaire assessed socio-demographic factors, medical status, consumption and knowledge of FF and FI ingredients. The data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences.

Out of 251 respondents, 40.6 and 32.0 per cent were knowledgeable about FF and FI, respectively, and 67.3 per cent consumed them. Calcium (48.0 per cent) and omega-3 (38.6 per cent) were identified as the most important FI. The consumption of FF was mainly owing to their nutritional benefits beyond basic nutrition (44.2 per cent); however, fearing artificial additives and their side effects (33.4 per cent) were reasons for rejecting them. FF knowledge was higher among young (p = 0.005) and single individuals (p = 0.002) and those going to the gym (p = 0.001), whereas willingness to learn about them was only associated with higher education (p < 0.001). Prebiotic yogurt consumption was higher among gym visitors (p = 0.017) and knowers of FF (p < 0.001). The consumption of protein bars and shakes was higher among males and those going to the gym (p < 0.001). The consumption of cereal bars was higher among young individuals, single, with high income, going to the gym and knowledgeable about FF (p < 0.05).

The findings are useful for market orientation, development and successfully negotiating new market opportunities of FF for both food industries and policymakers.

This study aims to examine the effect of socio-demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors on body composition among students from a private Lebanese University.

In this cross-sectional study, socio-demographic and lifestyle variables were collected. Height and waist circumference were measured. Inbody 720 (Biospace, Korea) was used to assess body composition (percentage body fat [PBF], visceral fat area [VFA], skeletal muscle mass [SMM]) and fitness score. Diet was assessed using the MEDFICTS (meats, eggs, dairy, fried foods, fat in baked goods, convenience foods, fats added at the table and snacks) questionnaire.

Out of 392 students, 3.1 per cent were underweight, 59 per cent were normal and 40 per cent were overweight and obese. In women,10.5 per cent adhered to the therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) compared to men (2.5 per cent), while 52.5 per cent of men needed dietary changes compared to 39.5 per cent of women, (p < 0.01). The most important predictors of PBF were being a woman, older age, lower fitness score and lower MEDFICTS score. The predictors of VFA were being a man, older age, less sleep time and lower fitness score. Being a man, smoking, higher fitness score and higher MEDFICTS score were predictors of SMM.

Upon university acceptance and as part of usual health screenings in universities, the authors’ study recommends screening of lifestyle and dietary habits of students, identifying students at risk and providing appropriate health interventions tailored to students’ needs.

This study is the first, in Lebanon, to assess the effects of sleep, stress, fitness and dietary habits on body composition of Lebanese university students.

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of gender in the sport business by investigating gender differences in entrepreneurial leadership and cultural values using quantitative methods.

In total, 241 surveys were completed by sport business owners in 4 countries in the Middle East.

The results revealed that gender differences and similarities are not only widely affected by national cultural values but also the effects of national cultural values vary between countries in the Middle East, despite these countries being similar in terms of habits, traditions, history, language and institutional systems. Additionally, it was found that entrepreneurial leadership is a role, task or responsibility that is related to both men and women in the sport business in the Middle East.

Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, together with limitations and suggestions for future research.

This is the only study in the field of entrepreneurial leadership that examined the concept of entrepreneurial leadership in Middle East sport businesses.

This study aims to descriptively identify and refine the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in the retail banking employee–customer contact context, and prescriptively use this knowledge to develop a framework for improving true customer service without excess organizational cost, in Lebanon.

The research adopts the classical interpretive/constructivist ontology and the interpretivism/constructivism epistemology, and it rests on a tripod of methodological foundations. The first leg is the theoretical work that sets the extant scientific ground for the empirical work to develop. The second incorporates the main (qualitative) empirical tools, i.e. 40 interviews with customers and HR managers (NVivo-analyzed), plus a critical incident technique study. The third includes the supportive tools of secondary data and an expert panel composed of industry and scholarly specialists.

EI was empirically shown to modulate the levels of customer satisfaction and to hold a critical role in the company–customer interface, albeit one that is currently and unjustly both undervalued and ineffectively controlled. The findings identify the key factors and exhibited behavioral attributes of EI within the customer service process, and they integrate all into a comprehensive framework of both scholarly and executive worth.

This study provides distinct theoretical elucidations and conceptualization that have identified and interrelated the relevant works on the subject; empirically refines the variables involved in the EI context of retail banking customer service; and culminates in the form of the proposed framework that incorporates and interrelates the findings into an empirical-data-based composition of both scholarly and executive orientation and worth.