Author(s): Getachew Tesema and Vijay Mohan

Abstract:
Dietary choice or food selection is recognized to be affected through numerous aspects, among that taste, convenience, price, fitness and performance, weight control and cultural /or religious dogmas are some of them. Hence the emphasis of this study was planned to study the food choice motives of players in Ethiopian premier league football clubs. A Cross-sectional research design (survey), involved 100 players from four (4) football clubs were purposively selected (25 players from each club). Food choice decision were assessed using validated questionnaire. ANOVA was used for the group comparisons and Post-hoc test was used when statistically significant mean differences was observed. Players’ nationality and food choice decision was analyzed using independent sample t-test. The result indicates that as whole for all the players the key factors affecting food choice decision was, Fitness & performances (M=3.20, SD=0.668), followed by health (M=2.99, SD=0.692), weight control (M=2.950, SD=0.728), price (M=2.88, SD=1.263), and sensory appeal (M=2.860, SD=0.692). There were no statistical significant mean differences between the football clubs for six (6) of the factors as p>0.05-(Convenience, mood, natural contents, political values, environmental protection, and familiarity), but Statistically significant mean differences between the football clubs for seven (7) of the factors, like price, health, fitness and performance, weight control, animal welfare, sensory appeal and religion across the football clubs. There was significant interaction effect found only between the football club and nationality of player on the importance of both political values as food choice factors (p = 0.047) and familiarity as foods choice factors (p=0.018). Player’s food choice decision was significantly different for the factors, price, health, fitness and performance, weight control, animal welfare, sensory appeal and religion across the football clubs. On the other hand they don’t shows that much significant differences for the factors Convenience, mood, natural contents, political values, environmental protection, and familiarity among the football clubs. This shows that in all the clubs under this study there were different factors which can affect players food choice decision. Nationality of players also shows variances in the food choice decision under the factor health and natural contents- were players having foreign nationality are more affected. In the case of price, environmental protection and religion players having Ethiopian nationality were more affected.

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