Differences In Nutritional Beliefs Among Sub-Elite Male And Female Rugby Athletes

PURPOSE: This study assessed changes in nutritional beliefs between sub-elite rugby 7 s athletes using a survey to identify attitudes toward nutritional beliefs and their intersection with performance. BACKGROUND: For peak performance, athletes need optimal nutrition. Despite its importance, professional athletes show poor positive attitudes toward nutrition, suggesting the neglect of healthy dietary practices. Males and females also have differing perspectives and priorities regarding diet with men highlighting the negative effect of unhealthy nutrition on performance. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study survey administered to sub-elite rugby 7 s players aged 14 to 40 at 2010-11 Las Vegas Invitational/Northeast RFU Summer 7 s and readministered, at 2021 Empire Geographic Union 7 s Qualifiers. The questionnaire, aligned with current nutritional guidelines and validated surveys, and analyzed with a Pearson Chi-square analysis used to compare the cohorts' results. RESULTS: In analyzing the nutritional beliefs of males (n = 171) compared to females (n = 73), a Pearson Chi-squared test found significant differences in the responses to “Do you believe that you should avoid high-fat foods for optimal performance?” (χ2 = 14.61, df = 1, p = 0.0001), “What is more important, the diet surrounding training or the diet surrounding a game/match?” (χ2 = 21.85, df = 4, p = 0.0002), “Do you believe that snacks are a good way to supply more energy?” (χ2 = 12.34, df = 1, p = 0.0004), “What an athlete eats is only important if the athlete is trying to gain or lose weight” (χ2 = 3.72, df = 1, p = 0.054). For high-fat foods, 95.65% of females vs. 76.16% of males responded “yes.” For snacks, 30.16% of females vs. 58.71% of males responded “yes,” and for weight management, 10.00% of females vs. 20.53% of males responded “yes.” CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate significant differences in the nutritional beliefs of male and female rugby athletes particularly beliefs centered around the intersection of nutrition and performance, highlighting sex-specific attitudes and practices regarding diet, energy supplementation, and weight management in their performance. This suggests that sex-specific nutritional plans may help maintain strong nutritional habits and peak performance in American rugby athletes.