Nutrition Education Preferences Of High Level Athletes Living In New Zealand And Australia

Abstract

PURPOSE: Nutrition education (NE) may help athletes optimize nutrition self-efficacy and dietary intake. We aimed to investigate athletes’ preferences for NE. METHODS: Athletes competing at a national or international level from 18 sports, and living in New Zealand (n = 88, 84.6%) and Australia (n = 12, 11.5%) participated in an online survey developed by the researchers (n = 104, median (IQR) = 22 (8) years, female 50.5%). Responses (from descriptive Likert scales, ranking of preferences) were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Athletes were very (47.6%) or extremely interested (40.0%) in NE. General nutrition topics considered an essential priority for NE were energy requirements (54.8% of athletes), hydration (52.9%), and nutrient deficiencies (43.3%). Performance topics considered essential were recovery (56.7%), pre-exercise nutrition (51.0%) and energy requirements for training (49.0%). Adapting meals for training requirements (36.5% of athletes) and behavior change techniques (26.9%) were considered essential nutrition-related life skills. Credible content was important (92.3%), and most participants wanted some repetition of topics (69.2%). Athletes’ top-ranked setting preferences were ‘one-on-one’, followed by ‘in person group’ and a ‘mixture of in person one-on-one and group’ sessions. For both online and in person group sessions, most athletes wanted NE with athletes of the same sporting caliber (60.6%) and with 6-10 others (38.0%). Preferred session duration was 31-60 minutes (61.5%) and held monthly (39.4%). A performance dietitian or nutritionist was the top-ranked facilitator, followed by sports/exercise physiologist, and an experienced athlete in the sport. Preferred facilitator traits were credibility (74.0%), experience in sports nutrition (77.9%) and knowledge of the sport (84.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Athletes were interested in and preferred ‘in person’ NE. Content preferences covered general, performance and skill-based nutrition, such as adapting meals for sporting requirements. Credibility of the facilitator was important, as well as experience in sports nutrition and knowledge of the athlete’s sport. Further research is needed with athletes at different levels and across all sports to further tailor athlete’s preferences for NE.