Assessment Of Pre-season Body Composition, Meal Patterns, Food Choices And Preferences In NCAA Division 1 College Athletes

Abstract

The transition from high-school to college is typically associated with substantial changes in body composition, eating patterns, and food choices. PURPOSE: To assess pre-season body composition, eating patterns, food choices and preferences in Division I NCAA college athletes. METHODS: 118 incoming first-year athletes (males: n=69, BMI 25.5±5.5 kg/m2; females: n=49, BMI 22.3±2.7 kg/m2) from basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, cross-country and tennis teams were recruited. Meal Patterns (MPQ), Food Preferences (FPQ) and Food Choices (FCQ) Questionnaires were used to assess eating patterns, factors that influence food choices and preferences. Body composition was assessed using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM) and body fat % (BF%). A two-way ANOVA was used for analysis with significance accepted at p<0.05. RESULTS: Evening (86.2%) and lunch (66.1%) meals were the most frequently consumed meals followed by breakfast (52.5%) and evening snacks (21.2%). Nocturnal eating (eating during the night after having been to sleep) was the least common form of eating (31.4%). There was no significant difference observed in FPQ and FCQ between genders (p>0.05). However, a significant difference was observed in the importance of food for weight control (p=0.02), preference for vegetables (p=0.03) and starches (p=0.02) among sports. In addition, significant body composition differences were observed between males and females (FM: 13.4±10.9 kg and 17.0±7.3 kg, LBM: 67.5±9.0 kg and 44.8±5.3 kg, BF%: 14.8±8.4% and 26.7±7.3 %, p<0.001, respectively) and among sports (p<0.001 ). CONCLUSIONS: Certain eating patterns, such as skipping breakfast or lunch meals, may be detrimental to the maintenance of appropriate body composition in their sport. In addition, athletes in the endurance sports had higher preference for starches and based their food choices on the need to control weight.