Table 4.
Mean total ADI scores and sub-scores for all athletes (n = 165) and the difference in mean total ADI scores between groups based on demographics and sports-specific characteristics.
| Demographic Variables |
Core Nutrition Sub-Score # |
Special Nutrients Sub-Score # |
Dietary Habits Sub-Score # |
Total ADI Score # | Mean Difference ¶ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | (95% CI) | p Value ‡ | |
| Athletes | ||||||||||
| Female (n = 112) | 57.5 | 9.1 | 24.9 | 4.1 | 8.6 | 1.5 | 91.0 | 12.1 | −1.0 (−5.0, 3.0) | 0.62 |
| Male (n = 53) | 57.9 | 10.0 | 25.6 | 4.1 | 8.6 | 1.8 | 92.1 | 12.7 | ||
| Age | 1.7 (−2.1, 5.5) | 0.39 | ||||||||
| 16–19 y (n = 71) | 58.4 | 10.2 | 25.1 | 4.1 | 8.8 | 1.3 | 92.3 | 13.3 | ||
| >20 y (n = 94) | 57.0 | 8.6 | 25.2 | 4.2 | 8.5 | 1.8 | 90.6 | 11.4 | ||
| Highest level of education | 1.3 (−2.9, 5.6) | 0.55 | ||||||||
| Secondary (n = 121) | 57.2 | 8.9 | 25.1 | 4.1 | 8.7 | 1.6 | 91.7 | 12.3 | ||
| Tertiary (n = 44) | 57.8 | 9.6 | 25.3 | 4.3 | 8.4 | 1.5 | 90.4 | 12.1 | ||
| Main grocery shopper |
F (df) 0.001 (2162) |
0.99 | ||||||||
| Never/Rarely (n = 47) | 57.5 | 10.0 | 25.0 | 4.5 | 8.8 | 1.7 | 91.3 | 13.5 | ||
| Sometimes (n = 51) | 57.6 | 10.0 | 25.2 | 3.8 | 8.6 | 1.5 | 91.4 | 12.7 | ||
| Usually/Always (n = 67) | 57.7 | 8.4 | 25.2 | 4.1 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 91.4 | 11.1 | ||
| Main person who prepares meals |
F (df) 1.149 (2162) |
0.32 | ||||||||
| Never/Rarely (n = 57) | 55.2 | 9.9 | 25.4 | 3.5 | 8.7 | 1.7 | 89.4 | 12.7 | ||
| Sometimes (n = 45) | 58.6 | 8.4 | 25.2 | 4.2 | 8.7 | 1.4 | 92.5 | 11.5 | ||
| Usually/Always (n = 63) | 59.0 | 9.1 | 24.8 | 4.6 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 92.3 | 12.3 | ||
| Self-rated cooking ability |
F (df) 0.126 (2162) |
0.88 | ||||||||
| Basic/Don’t cook (n = 36) | 57.1 | 9.1 | 24.9 | 3.9 | 9.1 | 1.5 | 91.1 | 11.4 | ||
| Intermediate (n = 93) | 57.2 | 9.2 | 25.3 | 4.3 | 8.6 | 1.6 | 91.1 | 12.4 | ||
| Advanced (n = 36) | 59.2 | 9.9 | 24.9 | 4.0 | 8.2 | 1.6 | 92.3 | 13.0 | ||
| Sport-specific variables | ||||||||||
| Primary sport ^ | −4.2 (−8.3, −0.2) | 0.04 * | ||||||||
| Individual (n = 52) | 55.7 | 9.5 | 24.3 | 4.4 | 8.5 | 1.8 | 88.5 | 13.2 | ||
| Team (n = 113) | 58.4 | 9.1 | 25.5 | 3.9 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 92.7 | 11.6 | ||
| Representative calibre | −0.9 (−4.8, 3.0) | 0.65 | ||||||||
| State/National (n = 62) | 57.2 | 8.9 | 25.0 | 3.6 | 8.7 | 1.6 | 90.8 | 10.8 | ||
| International (n = 103) | 57.8 | 9.6 | 25.2 | 4.4 | 8.6 | 1.6 | 91.7 | 13.1 | ||
| Stage of training cycle |
F (df) 1.904 (2162) |
0.15 | ||||||||
| Pre-season (n = 75) | 59.1 | 9.1 | 24.8 | 4.1 | 8.8 | 1.5 | 92.7 | 11.7 | ||
| In season (n = 27) | 54.6 | 10.4 | 24.3 | 4.2 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 87.4 | 13.7 | ||
| Off season, injured (n = 63) | 57.0 | 8.9 | 25.9 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 1.7 | 91.4 | 12.0 | ||
| Weekly training hours |
F (df) 0.004 (2162) |
0.99 | ||||||||
| 0–11 h/week (n = 44) | 56.9 | 9.8 | 25.4 | 4.2 | 9.2 a | 1.6 | 91.5 | 13.0 | ||
| 12–15 h/week (n = 57) | 57.8 | 9.3 | 24.7 | 4.3 | 8.8 b | 1.4 | 91.4 | 12.4 | ||
| 16+ h/week (n = 64) | 57.9 | 9.2 | 25.4 | 3.9 | 8.0 a,b | 1.8 | 91.3 | 11.7 | ||
ADI, Athlete Diet Index; h, hours; # the total ADI score out of a possible 125, Core Nutrition sub-score out of a possible 80, Special Nutrients sub-score out of a possible 35, Dietary Habits sub-score out of a possible 10; ¶ differences for variables involving more than two groups were assessed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and values are listed as F, F value (i.e., mean between-group variance divided by the mean within-group variance) and df, degrees of freedom; ^ primary sports were classified as individual (i.e., artistic swimming, cycling, equestrian, golf, rowing, tennis, track and field), and team (i.e., basketball, cricket, hockey, netball, water polo) sports; ‡ p value applies to the mean between group difference in mean total ADI scores; * p < 0.05, while a p < 0.001 applies to the post-hoc Bonferroni pairwise mean between-group difference observed in mean ADI sub-scores between groups of athletes training 0–11 and ≥16 h/week, respectively; and b p < 0.05 applies to the post-hoc Bonferroni pairwise mean between-group difference observed in mean ADI sub-scores between groups of athletes training 12–15 and ≥16 h/week, respectively.