THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION OF AN INDUSTRY SPECIFIC NUTRITION-EDUCATION PLATFORM IN PROFESSIONAL HORSERACING
type: CreativeWork
description: Professional horseracing is a weight-making sport whereby the jockey athlete is required to ‘make weight’ to compete. Cultural practice promotes use of weight making approaches that have a negative effect on health. Despite the emergence of an evidence-based jockey diet that facilitates health and performance, dangerous weight-making behaviours are widely maintained. Jockey nutrition education has been cited as lacking and in need of development. Through a mixed-methods paradigm, and use of behaviour change theory, specifically the Capability Opportunity Motivation – Behaviour (COM-B) model and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) this thesis aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of an industry-specific nutrition education platform to help reduce the reliance on hazardous weight management. Study 1 interviewed jockeys athletes (n=10) and their support network of trainers (n=3), agents (n=2), coaches (n=4), and racecourse clerks (n=7) to establish the perceptions of the industry on jockey weight-making and nutrition and why archaic methods were still used. Via six-stage thematic analysis findings indicated several external factors influenced dietary and weight-making practices, with racehorse trainer pressure and poor food provision at racecourses key themes. A systemic lack of nutrition education was the key finding with recommendations to improve the nutrition knowledge and skills of jockeys. Study 2 employed ‘co-creation’ as a method of collaboratively designing an education platform for the horseracing industry. Co-creation workshops involving jockeys (n=6), and athlete support personnel (n=12) comprising medics, nutritionists, physiologists, retired jockeys, jockey coaches, and board secretaries were followed by group interviews that spawned and captured ideas. Workshops and group interviews were conducted in three separate groups of six participants (two ASP groups, one jockey group). Themes generated from group interviews were subsequently mapped across…
abstract: Professional horseracing is a weight-making sport whereby the jockey athlete is required to ‘make weight’ to compete. Cultural practice promotes use of weight making approaches that have a negative effect on health. Despite the emergence of an evidence-based jockey diet that facilitates health and performance, dangerous weight-making behaviours are widely maintained. Jockey nutrition education has been cited as lacking and in need of development. Through a mixed-methods paradigm, and use of behaviour change theory, specifically the Capability Opportunity Motivation – Behaviour (COM-B) model and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) this thesis aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of an industry-specific nutrition education platform to help reduce the reliance on hazardous weight management. Study 1 interviewed jockeys athletes (n=10) and their support network of trainers (n=3), agents (n=2), coaches (n=4), and racecourse clerks (n=7) to establish the perceptions of the industry on jockey weight-making and nutrition and why archaic methods were still used. Via six-stage thematic analysis findings indicated several external factors influenced dietary and weight-making practices, with racehorse trainer pressure and poor food provision at racecourses key themes. A systemic lack of nutrition education was the key finding with recommendations to improve the nutrition knowledge and skills of jockeys. Study 2 employed ‘co-creation’ as a method of collaboratively designing an education platform for the horseracing industry. Co-creation workshops involving jockeys (n=6), and athlete support personnel (n=12) comprising medics, nutritionists, physiologists, retired jockeys, jockey coaches, and board secretaries were followed by group interviews that spawned and captured ideas. Workshops and group interviews were conducted in three separate groups of six participants (two ASP groups, one jockey group). Themes generated from group interviews were subsequently mapped across…
author: Martin, D
keywords: TX341 Nutrition. Foods and food supply, RC1200 Sports Medicine
date published: 2019-06
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:30:28Z
provider: Liverpool Jon Moores University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Liverpool John Moores University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.24377/LJMU.t.00010858