Abstract
The selection of foods made by athletes during competition can impact performance, yet to date, the quality of their food choices has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to describe the food selection of athletes in a buffet-style dining hall setting in terms of diet quality, food variety, and volume of food and compare to their self-rating of their meal, reasons for the choosing the food items, access to previous nutrition advice, and use of nutrition labelling. A total of 81 athletes (42 females, 39 males) from 24 sports across 58 countries at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Qld, Australia) participated in this study. A digital photograph was taken of the athletes’ meal after selection from the buffet and prior to consumption. Each participant was asked a series of questions in relation to their food selection. The photographs were coded into recommended serves of food groups based on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. The nutritional analysis and photograph of a standard serve size were used to quantify the energy and nutrients for the meal. Most athletes chose adequate quantities of macronutrients, which agreed with their reasons for the food choice, but the majority did not include fruit (80.2%) or dairy (65.4%) in their food selection, while 54% of males included discretionary foods (0.25–7.0 serves). The median self-rating for food choice was 8/10. Most reasons for food choices were nutritional attributes, sensory factors, performance, usual eating practices and physiological factors (e.g., satiety, gut comfort). This suggests that athletes may need more education on the quality of food selected from buffet settings.
Highlights
There is currently a move towards food-based research away from a focus on nutrients in the general population [1], but this is less evident in athletes where current recommendations focus on the intake and timing of macronutrients [2]
The aim of this study was to describe the food selection of athletes in a buffet-style dining hall setting in terms of diet quality, food variety and volume of food and compare to their self-rating of their meal, reasons for the choosing the food items, access to previous nutrition advice and use of nutrition labelling
The purpose was to look at the food variety, diet quality and volume of food selected by athletes and compare this to their reasons for choosing the food and their self-rating of their choices in relation to their sport
Summary
There is currently a move towards food-based research away from a focus on nutrients in the general population [1], but this is less evident in athletes where current recommendations focus on the intake and timing of macronutrients [2]. While this is of interest to researchers and practitioners, in practice, athletes often lack the skills to translate nutrient recommendations into appropriate food choices. It is evident that nutrition knowledge does not necessarily translate into appropriate dietary intake [5], and further research is needed to determine dietary adequacy of athletes [6]. The sheer volume of offerings can be confusing and potentially lead to overNutrients 2019, 11, 1627; doi:10.3390/nu11071627 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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