A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Influencing the Dietary Intakes of Professional Australian Football Players
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
3.1. Participants
3.2. Categories, Sub-Categories and Themes
3.3. Category One: Body Composition
3.3.1. Perceived Pressures Associated with Body Composition Assessment and Goals
“I don′t think there′s enough attention to how much muscle you′ve gained or lost’…there′s a lot made out if you have put on a kilo of fat.”
“And if you don’t come back better than last time yeah there′s a few pressures…”
3.3.2. Dietary Strategies Used to Meet Body Composition Goals
“…generally, in the weeks leading up, one to two weeks before a scan I cut out carbs a lot. Basically, almost that I am not eating carbohydrates at all because I do burn a lot of fat when I am doing that.”
“I would have shredded right up to the scan and drank a couple of liters of water right before, but I think I have become more relaxed in the last year.”
“…Because sometimes you can stress and the patterns you do throughout the year and patterns before a DXA can be unhealthy.”
3.3.3. Experienced Players Felt Less Pressure to Meet Body Composition Goals
“Maybe a few years back it was about getting as low as you can be, and I don′t think that′s the best way to go about it.”
“…I was 10.4% [body fat] once and it′s such a fine line because I got to 10.4% in preseason, and I was so light and didn′t have power in the contest but wasn′t getting applauded for how I was running.”
“…I think it all needs to be around performance and performance in training. You can′t be eating less carbs and feeling flat at training.”
3.4. Category Two: Interpersonal Factors
3.4.1. The Influence of Peers and Family
“You come home, and your partner is eating burgers and chips and then you have to go and choose healthy things off the menu, it isn′t going to work that well. It doesn′t affect me as much because she (my partner) eats well.”
“Yeah, I think that′s the standard and what everyone expects and if you are not (eating to support your goals) then you are not seen as professional.”
“We have a fair few other players that also bring their lunch in. So, we hang out around the café, eat our food and have a cup of coffee up there.”
“I lived with another player who was elite with his meal preparation. So, I think I learnt by living with him; whatever he was eating I was eating, and I learnt that way.”
3.4.2. The Influence of Mood on Food Choice
“…probably a big one is mood. Depends on the mood, if you are in a bad mood, I′ll tend to eat bad food, if I′m in a good mood I′ll probably stick to routine.”
3.5. Category Three: Stage of Competition Season (Preseason and Competition Season)
3.5.1. Preseason Influenced Dietary Intake (i.e., Reduced Carbohydrate Intake)
“Not straight after training. But when I′m in the car driving home because I have an hour′s drive that′s when I get hungry.”
“Yeah, preseason training, you are usually off to one thing and the next, sneak the food in when you can.”
“Performance in preseason is like how you are physically but with games or in-season it′s performance in games… So, you′re judged on how you are looking and how you present in preseason and in-season it′s how you play.”
“In preseason it′s nice to have a focus on your body and your nutrition as well because there aren′t games to focus on so that′s how you are performing, and I like that in preseason.”
3.5.2. Competition Season Influenced Dietary Intake (i.e., Increased Carbohydrate Intake)
“Depending on when we are training that’s how I alter my carbohydrate intake…I eat more carbs in-season (competition season), just because I am more conscious of performance and recovery.”
“What fuel I need for game day, mainly around the carbs in-season. I think that′s the main thing that changes are the carb periodization thing that the dietitian introduced and trying to get that right more often than not. That′s the main reasoning why I eat the food I eat.”
“I play better when I am relaxed, and not thinking about that kind of stuff (body composition).”
“I am hungry in the morning before training sessions, games are different. I don′t really eat all that much.”
“Yes definitely, initially I have a lack of appetite after a match. It will take me two–three hours to get something back in.”
3.6. Category Four: Nutrition Knowledge and Support
Nutrition Education and Support Preferred by AF Players
“One on one is good for me. In terms of learning the basics in a group is fine. But if you are trying to personalize training loads, diets, and intakes, one on one is by far the best because everyone is different.”
“…Other staff would be all about body fat percentage. Where the dietitian, is more levelled with it all. Like getting enough carbs in and having a balanced diet, in comparison to always body fat percentage.”
“If I have specific questions, I like coming and asking [the dietitian] and that gets the convo going and it′s more individually tailored.”
4. Discussion
4.1. Feelings and Pressures Associated with Body Composition Goals
4.2. Dietary Practices Associated with Adjusting or Maintaining Body Composition
4.3. Factors That Influence Dietary Intake of AF Players (i.e., Barriers to Meeting Nutrition Goals, Peers and Family, Preseason versus Competition Season Changes)
4.4. Sports Dietitians in the Team Sport Environment and the Importance of Having Individualized Nutrition Advice
4.5. Limitations
5. Conclusions
6. Future Directions for Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Category Explored | Question | Logic |
---|---|---|
Section one Influences on food choice and dietary habits | What are the key factors you think influence your food choices (Prompts: Taste, access, teammates, training)?
| Establish internal and external factors that influence food choice and allow players to identify whether these factors are barriers to meeting nutrition goals. Establish whether players feel their dietary habits change depending on the season, i.e., pre- and competition season. Explores the impact of training on players′ food choice and dietary habits. |
Can you think of any other factors that might influence your intake throughout the week? | Provides insight into other factors that influence dietary habits, that may not have been highlighted by research previously. | |
Section two Current nutrition practices surrounding body composition assessment | Do you currently have any body composition goals? Do you have body fat percentage goals or lean muscle mass goals? | Establishes whether players have body composition goals and identifies whether goals are body fat or lean muscle mass. |
In the weeks leading into a DXA scan, can you describe changes (if any) to your dietary intake?
Do you feel any pressures leading into a DXA scan? Do you think these pressures (if any) influence your intake? | Aims to identify if players change their dietary intake in the weeks leading into a body composition assessment period and provides insight into the types of dietary habits that occur. Aims to identify if players change their dietary intake in the days leading up to a body composition assessment period and provides insight into the types of dietary habits that occur. Explores players’ feelings surrounding body composition assessment periods and perceptions body composition and goals. | |
Section Three Nutrition education and the role of the sports dietitian in team sport | Moving forward, is there any information regarding nutrition you are unsure about? What types of education would help you? (i.e., one on one consultations, group education, cooking classes?) | Provides a platform for players to provide feedback on nutrition support and education required to support dietary intake meeting nutrition goals. Identifies types of education players prefer and provides an insight into preferred learning styles. |
Research Question | Categories | Sub-Categories | Themes |
---|---|---|---|
What factors influence food choice and dietary behaviors of AF players? | 1. Body composition | 1.1. Perceived pressures associated with body composition assessment and goals 1.2. Dietary strategies used to meet body composition goals 1.3. Experienced AF players felt less pressure meeting body composition goals | Players feel pressure from peers, high performance teams, S&C, and coach to meet body composition goals. Players modify dietary intake leading up to DXA by restricting carbohydrate and/or discretionary foods and manipulating fluid intake. Experienced players feel less pressure to achieve body composition goals and focus more on performance. |
2. Interpersonal factors (i.e., peers, family, and access) | 2.1. The influence of peers and family 2.2. The influence of mood on food choice | When players felt supported by their relationships in making healthy food choices, they were more likely to make positive food choices related to health. Players that felt decreased mood levels had a lack of motivation to make positive food choices. | |
3. Stage of competition season (i.e., in season versus preseason) | 3.1. Preseason influenced dietary intake (i.e., reduced carbohydrate intake) 3.2. Competition season influenced dietary intake (i.e., increased carbohydrate intake) | Players felt more pressure to meet body composition goals during preseason and reduced intake of carbohydrate surrounding DXA scans. A lack of time on main training days negatively influenced dietary intake. Players reported a greater intake of carbohydrates during competition season. Players experienced suppressed appetite post competition matches. | |
4. Nutrition knowledge and support | 4.1. Nutrition education and support preferred by AF players | Players prefer individual dietetic consultations to group presentations. Players feel they have good nutrition knowledge and are not seeking specific nutritional information. |
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Jenner, S.; Belski, R.; Devlin, B.; Coutts, A.; Kempton, T.; Forsyth, A. A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Influencing the Dietary Intakes of Professional Australian Football Players. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4205. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084205
Jenner S, Belski R, Devlin B, Coutts A, Kempton T, Forsyth A. A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Influencing the Dietary Intakes of Professional Australian Football Players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(8):4205. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084205
Chicago/Turabian StyleJenner, Sarah, Regina Belski, Brooke Devlin, Aaron Coutts, Thomas Kempton, and Adrienne Forsyth. 2021. "A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Influencing the Dietary Intakes of Professional Australian Football Players" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 8: 4205. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084205