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. University-educated 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.
Keywords: assessment; attitudes; knowledge; nutrition; nutritional surveys; practice; process evaluation; sports nutrition sciences.
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