Table 3.
Frequently avoided foods pre-race by performance level
| Foods Avoided | Lower Recreational n(%) | Upper Recreational n(%) | Competitive n(%) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat | 30 (24) | 71 (34) | 14 (41) | .061 |
| Milk products | 26 (25) | 56 (31) | 14 (47) | .085 |
| Fish/seafood | 23 (18) | 67 (33) | 13 (38) | .007 |
| Poultry | 22 (18) | 59 (28) | 8 (24) | .082 |
| High-fiber | 25 (19) | 51 (24) | 12 (35) | .148 |
| Chocolate | 22 (17) | 57 (27) | 5 (15) | .068 |
| Legumes | 18 (14) | 41 (19) | 10 (30) | .101 |
| Coffee or tea | 25 (20) | 42 (20) | 1 (3) | .031 |
| Energy drinks | 15 (12) | 37 (18) | 8 (24) | .181 |
| Starchy vegetable | 19 (15) | 33 (16) | 5 (15) | 1.000 |
| Lactose-free milk | 11 (9) | 34 (16) | 7 (21) | .077 |
| Eggs | 11 (9) | 33 (16) | 5 (15) | .154 |
| Soy milk | 13 (10) | 30 (14) | 5 (15) | .564 |
| Sports drink | 10 (8) | 29 (14) | 3 (9) | .270 |
| Vegetables | 6 (5) | 27 (13) | 7 (21) | .007 |
| Cold cereal | 7 (6) | 31 (15) | 3 (9) | .021 |
| Coconut milk | 9 (7) | 27 (13) | 6 (18) | .123 |
| Almond milk | 8 (6) | 27 (13) | 5 (15) | .120 |
Foods commonly avoided pre-racing by performance level. Individuals with a self-declared intolerance to a food category were removed from the analysis for that food. Lower recreational includes those who selected “don’t compete” and “lower recreational”. Percentages represent the frequency of individuals from each category who report avoiding the food. Differences between groups were determined by a Fisher’s exact test. Significant differences p < .05 are bolded