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Competition Nutrition Strategies of Athletes Competing at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
Abstract

Competition Nutrition Strategies of Athletes Competing at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

Fiona Pelly, H O'Connor and I Caterson
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol.40(5, Supplement 1), p.S13
2008
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000321503.21958.44
url
https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000321503.21958.44View
Published Version

Abstract

Nutrition and Dietetics nutrition athletes
PURPOSE: To investigate the competition nutrition strategies of elite athletes competing at the Sydney 2000 Olympic games. METHODS: A questionnaire was randomly distributed to athletes in the main dining hall of the athletes' village. Athletes were asked about their training/lifestyle and dietary strategies in the 2 to 3 days prior to competition, problems experienced in the week before competition, food preferences in a dining hall, special diets followed, nutrition knowledge and source of nutrition information. Responses were based on a 5 point Likert scale. Frequencies and association between variables were reported using the Chi-squared test statistic, the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: A total of 414 questionnaires (44.0% male, 56.0% female) were received from 78 countries (39.0%) with 31 of the 36 Olympic sports (86.1%) represented. The mean age of respondents was 30.4 ± 5.7 years (range 16-54 years). The majority of athletes reported eating the same amount of food (62.7%) and the same or more carbohydrate (81.6%) prior to competition, however 30.3% reported eating less than in training. A significantly higher proportion of participants in aesthetic/weight category sports reported eating less food (54.1%), less carbohydrate (29.7%) and less protein (43.2%) than to those participating in endurance/team sports (p less than 0.001). In addition, a total of 36.1% of athletes reported usually (16.4%) or occasionally (19.7%) losing weight prior to competition. More than one third of athletes reported always (36.8%) or sometimes (35.2%) taking supplements. Reported fluid intake prior to competition was significantly associated with the type of sport (p less than 0.001), with 30.1% of athletes from weight category sports decreasing their fluid consumption prior to competition. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of athletes reported suitable competition nutrition strategies, however, athletes from certain sports and cultural backgrounds may require targeted nutrition education to ensure adequate dietary intake prior to elite level competition.

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