Measuring the sports nutrition knowledge of elite Australian athletes using the Platform to Evaluate Athlete Knowledge of Sports Nutrition Questionnaire

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the nutrition knowledge of elite Australian athletes, and to obtain feedback from sports dietitians on the Platform to Evaluate Athlete Knowledge of Sports Nutrition Questionnaires' (PEAKS-NQ) suitability.Methods: Sports dietitians from the National Institute Network across Australia recruited athletes to complete the online, 50-item PEAKS-NQ which contained two sections (General Nutrition and Sports Nutrition). Sports dietitians provided feedback on the PEAKS-NQ using a 14-item questionnaire (with two open-ended items). The main outcome measures were nutrition knowledge score and tool suitability (usefulness, acceptability and feasibility) scores.For knowledge scores, independent t-tests, ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to evaluate differences between groups. Suitability was evaluated using descriptive statistics.Results: Twelve sports dietitians from the National Institute Network in Australia recruited a convenience sample of 240 athletes (21.3 ± 4.3 years, 63.5% female, 63.3% competed internationally). Athletes scored 70.7 ± 10.5%, with better general vs sports nutrition knowledge. Females had higher overall scores (P < .001) with no differences for age or sport played. Universityeducated athletes scored higher than non-tertiary educated athletes (P = .004). Knowledge gaps were identified in fats (role and food sources), recovery nutrition and managing body composition. Sports dietitians rated suitability of PEAKS-NQ positively with complete agreement on 8 of 12 items.Conclusions: Athletes have greater understanding of general nutrition compared to sports nutrition concepts and may benefit from education on applying nutrition in sports-specific contexts. Sports dietitians' responses showed PEAKS-NQ was a highly acceptable, feasible and useful measure.

Validation of a sports nutrition knowledge questionnaire for athletes in the United Kingdom and Ireland

“…When adjusting for the confounding variables (age, education, sport type and sport calibre), sex was found to influence the total score, with females performing slightly better than males (3⋅5 %). Previous studies have reported similar results, with females performing better than males (8,10,32) . For example, using the same tool, Tam et al (32) found female athletes scored 5⋅7 % higher than male athletes, while Wardle et al (10) observed females from the general population scored 4⋅4 % higher than males.…”

“…Previous studies have reported similar results, with females performing better than males (8,10,32) . For example, using the same tool, Tam et al (32) found female athletes scored 5⋅7 % higher than male athletes, while Wardle et al (10) observed females from the general population scored 4⋅4 % higher than males. There have been various reasons suggested for this trend, including less interest among males in nutrition and also important life stages for women producing greater concern for nutrition (moving away from home, marriage, pregnancy, etc.)…”

“…This suggests a disconnect in the translation of nutrition knowledge to appropriate dietary selection in athletes. Previous evaluation of athlete nutrition knowledge, suggests athletes possess basic nutrition, yet procedural nutrition knowledge is weaker ( 9 , 32 ) . These data are consistent with previous studies validating knowledge assessment tools, which report ‘nutrition experts’ consistently perform stronger than other cohorts ( 9 , 13 , 14 ) .…”

Olympic Cycle Comparison of the Nutritional and Cardiovascular Health Status of an Elite-Level Female Swimmer: Case Study Report from Slovenia

“…Furthermore, nutrition is a key determinant of the effectiveness of recovery and adaptive responses to a training process; moreover, it has an important, if not crucial, role in health status [ 13 ]. Although optimal nutrition is the key prerequisite for sports performance, the nutrition knowledge of athletes and its impact on their dietary intake, as shown in several review and cross-sectional studies, may be lacking [ 7 , 14 , 15 ]. Furthermore, in a review article, researchers recognized that micronutrient deficiencies are common in female athletes, particularly for vitamin D, calcium, and iron [ 12 ].…”

Athlete experiences of communication strategies in applied sports nutrition and future considerations for mobile app supportive solutions

“…This lack of implementation research in the sports nutrition field may now be impeding the application of the progress made in the laboratory (Eccles and Mittman, 2006 ; Bentley et al, 2020 ). Instead, applied intervention studies remain focused on education despite an awareness that the translation of knowledge into nutrition behaviors in athletes remains imperfect (Heaney et al, 2011 ; Bentley et al, 2021 ; Foo et al, 2021 ; Tam et al, 2021 ).…”