Determinants of food security status and perceived hunger affecting athletic performance among NCAA division I student-athletes at a minority-serving institution

Abstract

Objective: Identify sociodemographic and personal factors, specifically time-related beliefs and behaviors regarding healthy eating, associated with food insecurity (FI). A secondary objective explored the association of FI time-related and beliefs and behaviors with perceived influence of hunger on athletic performance. Participants: Division I student-athletes (n = 105) at a minority-serving institution. Methods: Student-athletes completed a cross-sectional survey. The six-item Food Security Survey Module assessed FI. Eight items captured time-related beliefs and behaviors regarding healthy eating. Adjusted logistic regression models estimated odds (OR (95% Confidence Intervals (CI)) of FI. Results: Almost half (43.8%) of student-athletes were FI. Identifying as male (OR (95% CI): 2.8 (1.1, 7.3)), non-white/Hispanic (2.9 (1.2, 7.2)), food-insecure before college (6.4 (1.5, 27.7)), or too rushed for a healthy breakfast (3.4 (1.2, 9.3)) was associated with FI. Eating meals at the same time every day was inversely associated with FI (0.2 (0.1, 0.7)). Reporting being too rushed in the morning to eat a healthy breakfast (2.7 (1.0, 7.2)), but not FI (2.0 (0.5, 5.0)), was associated with higher odds of perceiving hunger to influence athletic performance. Conclusions: Division I student-athletes at minority-serving institutions may be at a high risk of FI. Future research should identify opportunities to address FI and explore the role of time-related aspects of healthy eating.

Keywords: Food insecurity; healthy eating; minority-serving institution; student-athlete; time constraints.