Runners' Beverage Choices and Perceptions of Differences Between Water and Sport Beverages

Item	Responsea	Race		Sex
		Half-Marathon (n = 158)	Full Marathon (n = 118)	Men (n = 146)	Women (n = 130)
1. I intentionally increase the volumes of fluids I drink in non-exercise environments during periods of warm or hot weather.	Strongly disagree, %	3	4	4	3
	Disagree, %	9	7	10	5
	Agree, %	52	60	59	52
	Strongly agree, %	36	28	27	40
	Not applicable/do not know, %	7	2	3	6
	Mean ± SD	3.2 ± 0.7	3.1 ± 0.7	3.1 ± 0.7b	3.3 ± 0.7
2. Sport beverages are superior to water in meeting hydration needs of exercisers.	Strongly disagree, %	8	4	4	9
	Disagree, %	37	30	34	33
	Agree, %	45	44	46	42
	Strongly agree, %	11	22	16	16
	Not applicable/do not know, %	19	5	6	18
	Mean ± SD	2.6 ± 0.8c	2.8 ± 0.8	2.7 ± 0.8	2.7 ± 0.9
3. I prefer the taste of water over sport beverages in exercise environments.	Strongly disagree, %	7	1	6	9
	Disagree, %	27	40	39	26
	Agree, %	34	34	40	28
	Strongly agree, %	32	15	15	35
	Not applicable/do not know, %	7	4	5	6
	Mean ± SD	2.9 ± 0.9d	2.5 ± 0.9	2.6 ± 0.8b	2.9 ± 1.0
4. I avoid drinking sport beverages because of their caloric content.	Strongly disagree, %b	19	32	29	19
	Disagree, %	43	43	47	38
	Agree, %	23	24	18	29
	Strongly agree, %	16	2	6	14
	Not applicable/do not know, %	12	5	7	10
	Mean ± SD	2.4 ± 1.0d	2.0 ± 0.8	2.0 ± 0.9e	2.4 ± 1.0
5. I dilute regular sport beverages with water.	Strongly disagree, %	28	33	32	28
	Disagree, %	26	27	29	23
	Agree, %	25	20	18	29
	Strongly agree, %	20	20	20	20
	Not applicable/do not know, %	24	8	10	22
	Mean ± SD	2.4 ± 1.1	2.3 ± 1.1	2.3 ± 1.1	2.4 ± 1.1
6. I drink low- or zero-calorie sport beverages.	Strongly disagree, %	15	32	24	20
	Disagree, %	25	21	26	22
	Agree, %	41	33	37	37
	Strongly agree, %	20	15	14	22
	Not applicable/do not know, %	15	8	9	14
	Mean ± SD	2.7 ± 1.0d	2.3 ± 1.1	2.4 ± 1.0	2.6 ± 1.0
7. I drink beverages marketed as “recovery” beverages that contain high percentages of carbohydrates or a carbohydrate and protein combination.	Strongly disagree, %	24	19	20	24
	Disagree, %	34	36	32	37
	Agree, %	33	35	35	33
	Strongly agree, %	10	10	13	6
	Not applicable/do not know, %	18	18	19	17
	Mean ± SD	2.3 ± 0.9	2.4 ± 0.9	2.4 ± 1.0	2.2 ± 0.9
8. Drinking a sport beverage instead of water after exercise will result in better recovery and improved performance for my next exercise session.	Strongly disagree, %	9	7	6	9
	Disagree, %	35	30	35	29
	Agree, %	47	48	44	51
	Strongly agree, %	9	16	14	10
	Not applicable/do not know, %	30	13	19	24
	Mean ± SD	2.6 ± 0.8	2.7 ± 0.8	2.7 ± 0.8	2.6 ± 0.8
9. Drinking sport beverages with carbo-hydrates and electrolytes before or during exercise can improve performance during runs of less than 1 hour compared to water.	Strongly disagree, %	10	14	13	10
	Disagree, %	52	45	43	56
	Agree, %	36	39	40	33
	Strongly agree, %	2	3	4	1
	Not applicable/do not know, %	34	15	24	25
	Mean ± SD	2.3 ± 0.7	2.3 ± 0.7	2.4 ± 0.8	2.3 ± 0.6
10. Drinking sport beverages with carbo-hydrates and electrolytes before or during exercise can improve performance for runs of greater than 1 hour compared to water.	Strongly disagree, %	2	3	2	3
	Disagree, %	16	10	13	13
	Agree, %	55	54	50	60
	Strongly agree, %	26	34	34	25
	Not applicable/do not know, %	28	3	11	20
	Mean ± SD	3.1 ± 0.7	3.2 ± 0.7	3.2 ± 0.7	3.1 ± 0.7

^a 1, strongly disagree; 2, disagree; 3, agree; 4, strongly agree. Percentages and differences between groups were calculated excluding not applicable and do not know responses.

^b Different from women (P < .05).

^c Different from full marathon (P < .05).

^d Different from full marathon (P < .01).

^e Different from women (P < .01).