Journal article
Factors influencing food choice of athletes at international competition events
Appetite, Vol.121, pp.173-178
2018
Abstract
Although the nutrient requirements and dietary intake of athletes have been thoroughly investigated, little is known about the influences on their food choice, particularly prior to and during competition. This study sought to investigate factors that influence food selection of athletes at two similar international competition events: the Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. A secondary aim was to explore differences in these factors between at each event given the culturally diverse locations. A survey developed for this study was distributed to athletes in the village dining hall at both events. Athletes scored a selection of factors influencing food choice on a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). A total of 769 individuals completed the questionnaire in total, with 351 (46%) from Delhi and 418 (54%) from Melbourne. Overall, athletes rated nutrient composition (M = 4.22), stage of competition (M = 4.09), time of day (M = 4.02) and familiarity of the food (M = 4.07) higher than sensory properties (smell M = 3.88; visual appearance M = 3.22) when making a food selection. Visual appearance (p = 0.01), stage of competition (p < 0.001) and time of day (p = 0.01) had greater influence in Delhi than Melbourne. Overall, a significantly higher proportion of female athletes rated smell (p < 0.001) and familiar food (p < 0.001) as important compared to males. The stage of competition and nutrition composition was rated as very important by the greatest proportion of athletes from weight category sports (61.9%) and endurance sports (57.9%) respectively. The influence of the coach and team mates was less of an influence than other factors, but more so for athletes from Non-Western regions. Further investigation of the various determinants and motives for food section of athletes from a range of sports and cultures is warranted.
Details
- Title
- Factors influencing food choice of athletes at international competition events
- Authors
- Fiona Pelly (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringSarah J Burkhart (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringPeter K Dunn (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publication details
- Appetite, Vol.121, pp.173-178
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.appet.2017.11.086
- ISSN
- 0195-6663
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health - Nutrition & Dietetics; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450578102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Web Of Science research areas
- Behavioral Sciences
- Nutrition & Dietetics