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BackgroundSun safety and vitamin D status are important for prolonged health. They are of particular interest to those working with athletes for whom for whom safe sun practices maybe limited.The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the attitudes of elite New Zealand athletes to both vitamin D and sun exposure.Methods110 elite New Zealand outdoor athletes volunteered to participate in an interview with a trained interviewer. The interviewer asked the athletes questions on their Vitamin D knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding sun exposure as well as their concerns about skin cancer.ResultsAthletes were more concerned about their risk of skin cancer (66%) than their vitamin D status (6%). Although the majority (97%) were aware of Vitamin D and could identify the sun as a source (76%) only 17% could name another source of Vitamin D.Only 10 (9%) reported always applying sunscreen before going out in the sun. No athlete reported reapplying sunscreen every hour and 25 suggesting that they never reapply sunscreen.ConclusionsAthletes are concerned about skin cancer however, their use of sunscreen is not optimal suggesting reapplication of sunscreen could be targeted in order to reduce the risk of sun cancer. Awareness of sources of Vitamin D other than the sun may also need to be improved potentially through educational interventions and possibly in conjunction with sun smart messages.

Social media contains a wealth of nutrition information and proposes a cost-effective, highly engaging platform to deliver nutrition information to athletes. This study used an online questionnaire to determine whether New Zealand athletes are using social media as a source of nutrition information and to understand perceptions of social media as a nutrition resource. Quantitative data were analyzed using t tests, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression analysis. Inductive thematic analysis was adopted for the qualitative data. From the 306 athletes who completed the questionnaire, 65% reported social media use for nutrition purposes in the past 12 months. Social media use was predicted by both athlete status and gender. Female athletes were more likely to have used social media for nutrition purposes (odds ratio = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [1.52, 4.62], p = .001) than males. Elite athletes were less likely to have used social media for nutrition (odds ratio = 0.44, 95% confidence interval [0.24, 0.83], p = .011) than recreational athletes. Athletes commonly used social media for practical nutrition purposes, including recipes and information about restaurants/cafes. Perceived advantages of social media as a nutrition resource included ease of access, well-presented information, personal connectedness, and information richness. Athletes' primary concern for obtaining nutrition information from social media was information unreliability.

Abstract. Upper respiratory tract infections are the most common infections reported by elite athletes. Low vitamin D status has been associated with an increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), salivary immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) concentrations, and acute respiratory tract infections (colds/flu) (ARI) in elite rowers and rugby players. A total of 53 (23 rugby players, 30 rowers) elite New Zealand athletes volunteered to participate in an interview, and to provide a blood and a saliva sample. Testing occurred twice, 6 months apart. Athletes’ serum 25(OH)D concentrations and s-IgA levels were both significantly higher in summer, 108.9 (CI 102.8, 115.4) nmol/L, than in winter, 86.8 (CI 81.8, 92.1) nmol/L (p < 0.01, p = 0.028). The occurrence of an acute respiratory tract infection did not differ significantly between the time points (p = 0.322). However, ARI duration was significantly longer in winter than in summer (6.9 ± 4.3 days vs 4.8 ± 3.0 days; p = 0.044). There were no significant correlations between athletes’ 25(OH)D levels and their s-IgA levels (p > 0.05) nor with acute respiratory tract infection occurrence (p > 0.05) nor duration (p > 0.05) in summer or winter. These findings suggest there may not be any associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and acute respiratory tract infections in this population. However, this null finding may be attributed to the high vitamin D concentrations seen in these athletes.