Table 2 Data extraction: Quantitative research design

Title

Nutrition knowledge, food choice motives and eating behaviours of triathletes

Determinants of athletes’ food choice motives in Ethiopian premier league football clubs

Factors influencing food choice of athletes at international competition events

Development of a new tool for managing performance nutrition: The Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire

Evaluation of athletes’ food choices during competition with use of digital images

Factors influencing ultra-endurance athletes food choices: An adapted food choice questionnaire

Key factors influencing the food choices of athletes at two distinct major international competitions

Runner’s health choices questionnaire: female collegiate cross-country runners’ perspectives on health and eating

Study design

Cross-sectional

Observational

Cross sectional

Observational

Cross sectional Observational

Cross-sectional

Validation study

Cross sectional Observational

Cross sectional Observational

Cross-sectional Observational study

Cross sectional

Observational

Study aim

To explore the nutrition knowledge, eating behaviours and factors important in the food choices of recreational triathletes compared to an age-matched group not currently participating in triathlon

To explore the key factors of food choice motives of football players in Ethiopian premier league clubs and to examine the relative importance of these factors

To investigate the influence of a selection of factors relevant to athletes that could potentially influence their food choice during two competition events

To develop and refine an Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire (AFCQ) to determine the key factors influencing food choice in an international cohort of athletes

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. Compare to self-rating of their meal, reasons for choosing the food items, access to previous nutrition advice, and use of nutrition labelling

To assess the importance of factors that influence food choice in Ultra-endurance athletes in preparation for competition using a valid and reliable tool

To identify the key factors influencing the food choices of a diverse cohort of athletes, explore the differences in outcome between two events and describe differences across sport, history of competition and other demographic characteristics

To assess female collegiate cross-country runners’ perspectives regarding sport-related health and the factors impacting eating behaviours

Participants

Sample size

n = 298

(164 triathletes and 134 non-triathlete)

n = 100

n = 769

(351 Delhi 2010 and 418 Melbourne 2006)

n = 156

n = 81

n = 101

n = 385

(153 Universiade and 232 Commonwealth Games)

n = 353

Sex

Male 152 (50%)

Female 146 (49%)

Male 100 (100%)

Male 400 (52%) Female 366 (48%)

Male 64 (42%)

Female 90 (58%)

Male 39 (48%)

Female 42 (52%)

Males 74 (73%) Females 27 (27%)

Male 147 (41%)

Female 208 (59%)

Female 353 (100%)

Age

(years)

< 35–38%

≥ 35–62%

Not specified

Categorical–majority (40%) 19–24

21.5 ± 2.3; 18–28

(mean ± SD; range)

25; 15–60

(median; range)

Male 41.7 ± 8.1, Female 39.0 ± 9.6 (mean ± SD)

25 ± 7; 18–71

(mean ± SD; range)

19.5 ± 1.3

(mean ± SD)

Athlete level (as described by authors)

Active participants completing > 6 h/week of physical activity

Non-triathlete: 28.4%

Triathlete: 89.6%

Ethiopian Premier League

Athletes competing at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games

Athletes competing at the 2017 Universiade

Athletes competing at 2018 Commonwealth Games

Training hours per week –< 10 h (55.4%), 11-20 h (39.6%), > 20 h (3.0%),

Athletes competing at 2017 Universiade and 2018 Commonwealth Games

NCAA Divisions I (n = 112, 44%), II (n = 99, 39%), and III (n = 42, 17%)

Sport(s)

Triathlete (55%) (recreational, one elite and six open participants)

Non-triathlete (45%)

Football (soccer)

Mixed—Power/sprint (25%), aesthetic (18%), endurance (14%), skill (13%), weight (13%), racquet (10%) and team (7%)

Mixed (17, 77.3% sports)

Team (56.5%)

Individual (43.5%)

Mixed (24 sports)

Team (33%), endurance (24%), weight (19%), power/sprint (15%) and racket (8%)

Ultra-endurance sport: distance runner (69%), triathletes (21%), adventurers (5%) and cyclist (5%)

Mixed (29 sports)

Weight (17%), power/sprint (16%), endurance (18%), racquet (8%), team (37%) and skill (11%)

Cross country running

Athlete cultural background

Not specified

Not specified

Mixed—Africa (18%), Australia/ New Zealand (9%), Canada (7%), Caribbean (10%), India/ Sri Lanka (27%), Asia Pacific (16%) and West Europe (14%)

Mixed (31, 23% countries)—Africa (13%), Europe/ United Kingdom (40%), Asia (10%), Pacific region (14%) and North and South America (24%)

Mixed (58 countries)—Africa (24%), Australia/ New Zealand (22%), British Isles (24%), Canada (10%), Caribbean (6%), Asia/Pacific (15%)

Not specified

Mixed (69 countries)—Australia/New Zealand (14%), Canada (18%), United Kingdom (8%), Africa (20%), Asia (10%), Europe/ Middle East (12%), South America/ Pacific Isles/ Caribbean (19%)

White/non-Hispanic (80%), Hispanic or Latino (9%), Black (5%), Asian (4%) and Native American or Native Hawaiian (2%)

Context

Country

Study; author

Australia;

Australian authors

Ethiopia;

Indian authors

India and Australia; Australian authors

Taiwan;

Australian authors

Australia; Australian authors

England;

United Kingdom authors

Taiwan and Australia; Australian authors

United States; American authors

Competition phase

Pre-competition Recruited in the 3 months prior to the Noosa 2012 Triathlon

Not specified

In competition

In competition

34% event/s not finished

66% event/s completed

In competition

69% event/s not finished

31% event/s completed

Pre-competitive

assorted competition events not specified

In competition

56% event/s not finished

44% event/s completed

Not specified

Food setting/ environment

Not specified

Not specified

Live in village, buffet style, food provided, self-select, no cost

Live in village, buffet style, food provided, self-select, no cost

Live in village, buffet style, food provided, self-select, no cost

Not specified

Live in village, buffet style, food provided, self-select, no cost

Not specified

Concept

Methods for reporting food choice

Questionnaire:

Importance five-point Likert scale

Adapted from the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ)–Revised version by Lockie et al. 2002. Pilot tested (n = 16)

Factors rated: health, weight, performance, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, price, familiarity, animal welfare, environmental protection, political values and religion

Questionnaire:

13 food choice factors

Note: appears to be the adapted FCQ used in Birkenhead’s thesis

Questionnaire:

Importance five-point Likert scale

Factors rated: nutrient content, visual appearance, smell, familiarity, stage of competition, time of day, proximity to entrance, presence of teammates, presence of coach

Questionnaire:

Frequency five-point Likert scale

Groups: sensory attributes, convenience and access to food, usual eating practices, food production and marketing, emotional influences, food and health awareness, nutritional attributes of the food, performance, influence of others, and situational influences

Questionnaire:

Open ended questions

Self-reported influences on their food selection. Answers were analysed into themes based on the categories Athlete Food Choice Questions (AFCQ)

Questionnaire

Phase 1: Pilot tested 84-item questionnaire. Adapted Food Choice Questionnaire for ultra-endurance athletes (U-FCQ)

Phase 2: U-FCQ

Importance seven-point Likert scale

Factors rated: access, convenience, mood, sensory appeal, ethical concern, allergy, health, physique, trust, somatic, event and familiarity

Questionnaire:

Frequency five-point Likert scale

AFCQ and 11 additional items; availability, cost, convenience, eating location, doping concerns, gut comfort, hunger, the meal, busy schedule, and medical conditions and food allergies

Open ended questions asked about additional factors that may influence food choices

Questionnaire:

Runner’s Health Choices Questionnaire

Response options (no, minimal, moderate or high impact and neutral/ don’t know)

Rate how much of an impact you feel the following 13 factors have on your choice of:

Overall diet; and,

Daily meal decisions

Relative to food environment

General food environment over the past 3 months

General food environment

Current food environment

General food environment

Current food environment–specific to current meal

General food environment and competition

General food environment

General food environment

Other outcomes

General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire:

Three Factor Eating Questionnaire

N/A

N/A

Phase of competition and competition history

Sources of nutrition information, dietary regimens, self-rating of food selection

Digital images of meals

Quantitative and qualitative nutritional analysis

Dietary restrictions (habitual, pre-competition and during competition)

Phase of competition and competition history

Factors that impact overall health and running performance, sources of nutrition information

Outcome

Determinants of food choice

Health

Performance

Price

Sensory appeal

Natural content

Convenience

Weight

Mood

Familiarity

Animal welfare

Political values

Environmental protection

Health

Weight control

Price

Sensory appeal

Environmental protection

Natural contents

Familiarity

Religion

Mood

Convenience

Political value

Animal welfare

Nutrient composition

Stage of competition

Familiar food

Time of day

Smell

Visual appearance

Teammates

Proximity to entry

Coach

Nutritional attributes

Emotional influences

Food /health awareness

Influence of others

Usual eating practices

Weight control

Food values and beliefs

Sensory appeal

Performance

Nutritional attributes (macronutrient content of food, content in meal)

Sensory factors

Performance

Usual eating practices (food preference or familiarity)

Influences reported in smaller numbers:

Food/health awareness, emotional influences, weight control, influence of others

Physiological reasons (gut comfort, hunger, satiety)

Other factors (weather/climate, availability, health condition)

Equal mean rating—Event, somatic

Sensory

Health

Equal mean rating

Nutrients, physique trust

Feelings

Access

Convenience

Time

Important:

Provide me with energy’, ‘do not cause me gastrointestinal discomfort’

‘Nutritious’

‘Tastes good’, ‘are good quality products’ and ‘keeps me healthy’

Performance

Sensory appeal

Food and health awareness

Weight control

Top additional items:

Hunger

Time of day

Gut comfort

Convenient to prepare

Unique factors:

Preferences, exploratory eating, competition phase, weather, food safety and transport

Greatest proportion of high impact responses:

Overall diet:

Enjoyment of food

Makes you feel healthy

Athletic performance enhancement

Health condition

Daily food choices:

Practice/race that day

Choices in the cafeteria

Creating a balanced diet

Time to prepare meals

Relationship to other variables

More important:

Sex: Females—weight and natural content

Sport: Triathletes -performance and price. Non-triathletes—environmental protection, political values and animal welfare

Exercise: Active males—weight control

Less important

Active individuals—sensory appeal

Setting: Differences in price, health, fitness and performance, weight control, animal welfare, sensory appeal and religion between football clubs

Nationality: Foreign players more affected by health and natural content

Ethiopian players more affected by price, environmental protection and religion

Football club and nationality: Associated with political values and familiarity

Education: Significant mean difference for convenience, weight control, animal welfare and religion factors

More important

Setting: Delhi—Coach and teammates, visual appearance and time of day

Sex: Females—Smell and familiarity

Sport: Weight category and endurance—Stage of competition and nutrient composition

Weight category—coach

Culture: Indian and Asia Pacific—teammates and coach more than Canada, Australia and West Europe

Intercorrelations between performance and both nutritional attributes of the food and weight control

Meals in general lacked fruit, dairy and included discretionary foods

Athletes’ self-rating of food was 8–10

Positive correlation between age and self-rating

Young athletes rating meal as poorer

N/A

Experience: Performance more and emotional influences less in Commonwealth Games than Universiade

Age: Younger athletes more frequently reported available money as an influence

Sport: Food and health awareness, nutritional attributes of food and weight control more frequently reported by weight category athletes

Culture: Food values and beliefs and doping concerns more frequently reported from non-western countries

N/A

Conclusion

Athletes in this study placed high importance on performance and health when making food choices but were less concerned about factors related to ethical issues and religion

Factors which can affect players’ food choices can differ based on the athlete’s playing club and nationality

Unique influences on food choices of athletes in a competition environment, which is influenced by their sport and cultural background

This research resulted in a questionnaire (AFCQ) that included factors specific to athletic performance and the sporting environment

Findings suggest that athletes may be more focused on the quantity of macronutrients rather than the quality of food and are influenced by a range of factors, even if having had previous nutrition advice

The study produced a questionnaire with evidence of reliability. The questionnaire may be used to assess the factors that influence food of ultra-endurance athletes during periods of high-volume training and competition

More experienced athletes may be more influenced by performance and nutrition, and less so by their emotions, Competition phase appears to have a modulating effect on food choice motives

A variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence female collegiate cross-country runners’ health status and eating choices