Diet Quality of Elite Australian Athletes Evaluated Using the Athlete Diet Index

Nutrients

Gary J. Slater¹  Kathryn L. Beck²  Helen T. O’Connor³  Janelle A. Gifford³  Ryan Tam³  Victoria M. Flood³  Louise Capling³ 

[1] School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4556, Australia;School of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, College of Health, Massey University, Auckland 0632, New Zealand;Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2141, Australia;

关键词: dietary assessment;    sports nutrition;    athletes;    exercise;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu13010126

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

While athletes’ nutrient intakes have been widely reported, few studies have assessed the diet quality of athletes. This is the first study to evaluate the diet quality of athletes using the purpose-built Athlete Diet Index (ADI). A convenience sample of 165 elite athletes from Australian sporting institutions completed the ADI online, with subsequent automated results provided to their respective accredited sports dietitians (ASDs). At the completion of athlete participation, ASDs (n = 12) responded to a range of survey items using a Likert scale (i.e., 1 = strongly agree to 5 = strongly disagree) to determine the suitability of the ADI in practice. Differences in ADI scores for demographics and sport-specific variables were investigated using independent t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni multiple comparisons. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to assess the association between total scores and demographics. The mean total ADI score was 91.4 ± 12.2 (range 53–117, out of a possible 125). While there was no difference in total scores based on demographics or sport-specific variables; team sport athletes scored higher than individual sport athletes (92.7 vs. 88.5, P < 0.05). Athletes training fewer hours (i.e., 0–11 h/week) scored higher on Dietary Habits sub-scores compared with athletes training more hours (> 12 h/week; P < 0.05), suggesting that athletes who train longer may be at risk of a compromised dietary pattern or less than optimal nutrition practices that support training. Most (75%) ASDs surveyed strongly agreed with the perceived utility of the ADI for screening athletes and identifying areas for nutrition support, confirming its suitability for use in practice.

【 授权许可】

Unknown