Placentino Umberto, Sogari Giovanni, Viscecchia Rosaria, De Devitiis Biagia, Monacis Lucia
ITAF Sports Centre, Office for the Coordination and Management of Professional Athletes, Vigna di Valle, 00062 Roma, Italy.
Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy.
Foods. 2021 May 18;10(5):1117. doi: 10.3390/foods10051117.
The dietary supplements market is growing, and their use is increasing among professional athletes. Recently, several new protein supplements have been placed in the marketplace, including energy bars enriched with insect flour. Edible insects, which are rich in protein content, have been promoted as the food of the future and athletes could be a reference sample for their continued emphasis on higher protein demand. The present study investigated the potential motivations to accept an energy protein bar with cricket flour, among a group of selected Italian professional athletes. A second aim was also to measure how an information treatment about the benefits of edible insects would have impact on acceptance.
61 Italian professional athletes (27 females) completed a structured questionnaire regarding supplements and eating habits, food neophobia, nutrition knowledge, willingness to taste edible insects and the associated factors. A question about sports endorsement was also posed at the end of the survey.
all subjects consumed supplements, generally recommended by medical personnel, even though their general knowledge of nutrition was poor (47.8%). Our main results shown that on a seven-point Likert scale, the protein content (5.74 ± 1.01) and the curiosity about texture (5.24 ± 0.98) were the main drivers to taste the cricket energy bar; whereas the feeling of disgust (5.58 ± 1.08) justified the rejection of tasting insects. In addition, the level of food neophobia increases with age ( < 0.05) and reduces willingness to endorse the cricket bar ( < 0.05). Male athletes (4.47 ± 1.69) were more likely to endorse the product than females (3.3 ± 1.49). An increase in willingness to taste was observed after the information treatment (z = 4.16, < 0.001). Even though the population under investigation is unique, it is important to mention that this study involves a relatively small and convenience sample, and therefore generalizability of the results should be done with caution.
膳食补充剂市场正在增长，职业运动员对其的使用也在增加。最近，市场上出现了几种新的蛋白质补充剂，包括富含昆虫粉的能量棒。富含蛋白质的可食用昆虫被宣传为未来的食物，而运动员由于持续强调更高的蛋白质需求，可能是一个参考样本。本研究调查了一组选定的意大利职业运动员接受含有蟋蟀粉的能量蛋白棒的潜在动机。第二个目的是衡量关于可食用昆虫益处的信息处理对接受程度的影响。
61名意大利职业运动员（27名女性）完成了一份关于补充剂和饮食习惯、食物恐新症、营养知识、品尝可食用昆虫的意愿及相关因素的结构化问卷。调查结束时还提出了一个关于体育代言的问题。
所有受试者都食用补充剂，这些补充剂通常是由医务人员推荐的，尽管他们的营养常识较差（47.8%）。我们的主要结果表明，在七点李克特量表上，蛋白质含量（5.74±1.01）和对质地的好奇心（5.24±0.98）是品尝蟋蟀能量棒的主要驱动力；而厌恶感（5.58±1.08）则成为拒绝品尝昆虫的理由。此外，食物恐新症的程度随年龄增长而增加（<0.05），并降低了代言蟋蟀棒的意愿（<0.05）。男性运动员（4.47±1.69）比女性运动员（3.3±1.49）更有可能代言该产品。信息处理后，品尝意愿有所增加（z = 4.16，<0.001）。尽管所调查的人群具有独特性，但需要指出的是，本研究涉及的样本相对较小且为便利样本，因此结果的普遍性应谨慎对待。
