Survey
The survey was created to explore how elite athletes adapt their eating habits to perform at a high level. It is structured in 2 parts: Demographic questions with age, gender and their sport, and information about eating their current habits. Two open questions were implemented regarding nutrient tracking and dietary challenges.
Before publication expert reviews and user tests were conducted. Questions were examined as if we had no prior knowledge to identify anything unclear or confusing and external participants evaluated clarity, relevance and cohesion.
The survey was distributed on November 11th to several universities and sports organizations across Sweden. Unfortunately, only a total of 43 responses were collected. An English version was also made but received no responses.
Gender
Age
Sport
Data analysis
The data analysis began with a univariate review of all survey questions, choosing suitable visualizations such as pie charts, bar charts, and frequency tables. The aim was to identify patterns and differences related to gender, sport, age and eating habits.
Gender differences were explored through several bivariate analyses, including supplement use, number of meals per day and reasons for nutrient tracking. A multivariate analysis examined the relationship between gender, sport and reported dietary challenges. Given that only a single participant identified as non-binary, the subgroup size was insufficient to support reliable or generalizable statistical analysis.
Differences between competition levels were also assessed using tables covering all five levels (international championships, national championships, top leagues, national teams and regional/other levels). A bivariate frequency table was used to compare supplement use across these levels.
A thematic approach was applied to the open-ended answers. Responses were coded and grouped into categories, which were refined into key themes and color sorted by gender. The most common challenge for both genders was eating enough food. Only women used structured meal plans, while nutrient tracking was generally similar across genders. Some gender-specific issues emerged, such as time constraints being more common among women and protein intake difficulties being more common among men. Eating disorder–related concerns were only mentioned by women within the cheerleading subgroup.
User insights
Supplement use
- An analysis of supplement use revealed clear differences between athletes.
- Creatine and BCAA were used twice as often by men, while women more frequently used omega-3 and carbohydrate supplements.
- Caffeine was the most common supplement across all competition levels and increased with higher levels, suggesting its use as a performance enhancer.
- Vitamins and minerals were consistently used at all levels, whereas protein powder and creatine were more prevalent among international- and top-level athletes.
- Those not using supplements were mostly at regional levels, while carbohydrate supplements were almost exclusive to athletes with very high energy demands.
Dietary challenges
- The biggest challenge for athletes across genders was meeting energy needs, particularly in sports such as handball, athletics, golf, football, swimming, and triathlon.
- Secondary challenges varied: men struggled more with protein intake, while women cited time constraints. Eating disorder concerns appeared only among women in cheerleading.
Nutrient tracking
- Most athletes tracked their nutrient intake in similar ways regardless of gender.
- The only notable difference was that only women reported using structured meal plans or diet schedules, indicating a more organized approach to planning meals.
