Athlete perspectives on the enablers and barriers to nutritional adherence in high-performance sport

Bentley, Meghan R.N.; Patterson, Laurie; Mitchell, Nigel; Backhouse, Susan H.

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101831

Cited by 37 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Participant's in the current study report barriers to optimal nutritional intake which could be classed as either sport specific or general themes; childhood, body composition, nutrition knowledge, time management and food security, which is in line with previous research studies in athletes (Heaney, 2011 ; Birkenhead and Slater, 2015 ; Stokes et al, 2018 ; Bentley et al, 2021 ). Highlighting that factors aside from nutritional needs should be considered when providing information to athletes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Barriers, Attitudes, and Influences Towards Dietary Intake Amongst Elite Rugby Union Players

Sharples

Galloway

Baker

et al. 2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Background: Dietary intakes can impact an athletes health and performance. Although evidence exists about what an athlete should eat, an athlete's nutritional intake is influenced by many factors. The limited research available suggests the main barriers preventing optimal nutritional intakes reported by athletes are lack of time, food accessibility, poor cooking skills, costs, taste, and time spent in “off-season.” Although these factors have been shown to influence dietary intake they remain relatively unexplored in Rugby Union. This study aimed to describe the nutritional influences on dietary intake amongst Rugby Union player's.Methods: This was a qualitative study utilising in person individual interviews with all participants. Participants were Rugby Union players (n = 30) for either a Super Rugby franchise or one of their development squads in New Zealand. Participant's undertook recorded face to face interviews, which were later transcribed. A thematic approach was used to code the transcripts by the primary coder and the themes were subsequently evaluated by the research team.Results: Childhood upbringing, organisational skills, time and food security also emerged as barriers. Body composition and sport nutrition knowledge emerged as both barriers and enablers to nutritional intake. Influence on performance was an enabler to optimal dietary intake. Fully professional rugby players have access to dietitians, whereas development and semi-professional rugby players only have limited if any access, and they were more likely to seek nutritional information via social media.Conclusion: This study suggests a need for greater nutrition education at developmental levels with an emphasis on affordable food choices, meal planning and skills for interpreting online nutrition information.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Barriers, Attitudes, and Influences Towards Dietary Intake Amongst Elite Rugby Union Players

Sharples

Galloway

Baker

et al. 2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

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“…This may be caused by how the media portrays nutritional information in relation to governmental dietary guidelines (Ellison et al 2011). Interestingly, a recent study found that adherence to nutritional guidance was seasonal among high performance athletes and similarly to the present study, dietary behaviours were underpinned by emotional barriers/motivation with training schedules limiting opportunities for food planning (Bentley et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Dietary Intakes, Knowledge and Perceptions of Semi-Professional Rugby Athletes in Scotland.

Hitendre

Jordan

Theodorakopoulos

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background Adequate nutritional intake plays a pivotal role in optimising performance, recovery and body composition goals. This study aimed to investigate the dietary intakes (DI), nutritional knowledge (NK) and attitudes, perceptions and challenges (APC) of semi-professional rugby players in Scotland. Methods Dietary intakes and NK of 24 male semi-professional rugby players of a Super6 club were evaluated using validated questionnaires. Players were categorized as having good or poor NK according to NK scores. Diet-related APCs were assessed online using researcher developed questionnaires and 1–1 semi-structured interviews. Results Mean ± SD total NK% was poor, 53.7 ± 11.9%. The ‘Good’ NK group scored significantly higher in the Weight Management (p = 0.014), Macronutrients (p < 0.001), Micronutrients (p = 0.001) and Sports Nutrition (p < 0.001) sections. Mean DI were 26.3 ± 9.2 kcal/kg/day energy, 1.4 ± 0.4 g/kg/day protein, 21.7 ± 10.1 g/day fibre. Median (25th ,75th ) carbohydrate intake was 3.0 (2.0,3.0) g/kg/day and 6.3 (2.3,10.6) units/week alcohol. Mean ± SD fat and saturated fat (SFA) % total energy intake (EI) were 36.2 ± 3.7% and 12.8 ± 1.9% respectively, and SFA %EI exceeded recommendations (p < 0.001). The ‘Good’ NK group had a significantly higher intakes of all macronutrients (p < 0.05). Total NK% positively correlated with intakes of meat (r = 0.556, p = 0.011), cereals (r = 0.458, p = 0.042), dietary fat (r = 0.477, p = 0.034), vegetables (r = 0.487, p = 0.030) and alcoholic beverages (r = 0.541, p = 0.014). Supplement use was 68%. Players felt diet affected performance (94%) but 31% of them were unaware of any specific nutritional strategies. A healthy diet was perceived to be ‘balanced’ with ‘variety from all food groups’. Lack of time for preparation was described as the main barrier to healthy eating. Conclusions Overall players had poor NK, their fibre and carbohydrate intake was suboptimal, whereas saturated fat intake exceeded recommendations. Many lacked awareness of current sports nutrition guidelines. Further nutrition education may be needed to improve diet quality and aid performance goals.

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“…However, some studies have shown [ 15 , 36 ] that, while a nutritional education intervention led to a measurable increase in nutrition knowledge, the prevalence of LEA did not change. Therefore, a combined approach of nutrition education, opportunities to practice dietary skills as well as behavior change therapy [ 37 ] may be necessary to help athletes minimize the risk of nutritional deficiencies [ 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Low Energy Availability in Collegiate Women Soccer Athletes

Magee

Lockard

Zabriskie

et al. 2020

JFMK

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(1) Background: Limited information exists on the prevalence of low energy availability (LEA) in collegiate team sports. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of LEA in collegiate women soccer players. (2) Methods: Collegiate women soccer athletes (n = 18, height: 1.67 ± 0.05 m; body mass: 65.3 ± 7.9 kg; body fat %: 24.9 ± 5.6%) had their body composition and sport nutrition knowledge assessed in the pre-season. Energy availability was assessed mid-season using a 4-day dietary log and activity energy expenditure values from a team-based monitoring system. A validated screening tool was used to screen for LEA. (3) Results: The screening tool classified 56.3% of athletes as at risk of LEA (<30 kcal/kg of FFM); however, the actual dietary intake identified 67% as LEA. Athletes identified as non-LEA consumed significantly more absolute (p = 0.040) and relative (p = 0.004) energy than LEA athletes. (4) Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of LEA among collegiate women soccer athletes. Although previously validated in women endurance athletes, the LEA screening tool was not effective in identifying those at risk of LEA in this sample of athletes.

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Athlete perspectives on the enablers and barriers to nutritional adherence in high-performance sport

Cited by 37 publications

References 68 publications

Barriers, Attitudes, and Influences Towards Dietary Intake Amongst Elite Rugby Union Players

Barriers, Attitudes, and Influences Towards Dietary Intake Amongst Elite Rugby Union Players

Dietary Intakes, Knowledge and Perceptions of Semi-Professional Rugby Athletes in Scotland.

Prevalence of Low Energy Availability in Collegiate Women Soccer Athletes

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