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Reliability of the Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire in Diverse Settings

Author

Listed:
  • Rachael L. Thurecht

    (School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia)

  • Fiona E. Pelly

    (School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia)

  • Sarah Burkhart

    (School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia)

Abstract

Understanding the factors that influence an athletes’ food choice is important to supporting optimal dietary intake. The Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire (AFCQ) is a new validated tool for assisting practitioners and researchers to understand athlete eating behaviours. However, the AFCQ previously has only been applied at international competition events. This observational study explored the online application of the AFCQ outside of the competition environment with detailed examination of factor reliability. The AFCQ factors include ‘nutritional attributes of the food’, ‘emotional influences’, ‘food and health awareness’, ‘influence of others’, ‘usual eating practices’, ‘weight control’, ‘food values and beliefs’, ‘sensory appeal’, and ‘performance’. A total of 131 athletes, representing 19 countries and 36 sports, participated using an online questionnaire. Reliability via Cronbach’s alpha (α) and item correlation scores were compared to those from previous competition events. Acceptable reliability was attained for seven of the nine factors (α ≥ 0.7, range 0.70–0.92). ‘Food values and beliefs’ and ‘usual eating practices’ (α = 0.60, 0.64) were tolerable and consistent against previous major competition samples, indicating that the setting is unlikely responsible for lower reliability scores. Three factors (‘emotional influence’; ‘nutritional attributes of the food’; ‘influence of others’) differed in reliability between the online sample compared to one or both major competition samples. The ‘religious food beliefs’ item within the ‘food values and beliefs’ factor may warrant removal due to recurrent low internal consistency. This study confirms the AFCQ’s reliability regardless of competition phase and supports use of the AFCQ for understanding the eating behaviours of athletes.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachael L. Thurecht & Fiona E. Pelly & Sarah Burkhart, 2022. "Reliability of the Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire in Diverse Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-12, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:9981-:d:887118
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    Cited by:

    1. Le Zhang & Xiaoxiao Xu & Yanlong Guo, 2022. "Comprehensive Evaluation of the Implementation Effect of Commercial Street Quality Improvement Based on AHP-Entropy Weight Method—Taking Hefei Shuanggang Old Street as an Example," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Le Zhang & Xueyan Li & Yanlong Guo, 2024. "Research on the Influencing Factors of Spatial Vitality of Night Parks Based on AHP–Entropy Weights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-20, June.

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