Dietary intake and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in semi-professional female soccer players: a cross-sectional study
- PMID: 38706566
- PMCID: PMC11066240
- DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1378365
Dietary intake and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in semi-professional female soccer players: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Background: Adequate energy and nutrient intakes in athletes contribute to optimal performance and recovery, decrease the risk of injury, and help preserve athletes' health. The Mediterranean diet (MD) is considered suitable for covering the nutritional needs of athletes, while contributing to improve eating habits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the energy and nutrient intakes of semi-professional female soccer players and their adherence to the MD, during the competitive season.
Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on twenty-three female soccer players, who were invited to fill in a 3-day food diary twice, one month apart, to assess their energy and nutrient intakes and a validated questionnaire (MEDI-LITE) to evaluate their adherence to MD. Exercise energy expenditure during three training and match-play days was monitored by GPS.
Results: On average, the participants consumed 1,981 kcal/day, with 44% of their energy deriving from carbohydrates, 21% from protein, and 34% from fat; the mean MD adherence score was 10.1 ± 1.8, corresponding to a good MD adherence. A substantial percentage of athletes were at risk of insufficient nutrient intakes for vitamin D (100%), iodine (87%), potassium (87%), vitamin E (39%), iron and zinc (17 and 30%, respectively).
Conclusion: The evaluation of the dietary intake in female soccer players showed energy deficiency in relation to training level, mainly due to the insufficient intake of carbohydrates, and micronutrient deficiencies. The technical staff should promote adequate consumption of starchy foods in female athletes and emphasize the importance of a proper distribution of energy intake among different eating occasions, including snacks. Periodic monitoring of the nutritional status of micronutrients (vitamin D and some minerals) could help reduce deficiency risk. Over all, nutrition education to improve eating habits of athletes seems worthy of attention, in order to preserve athletes' health and performance.
Keywords: Mediterranean diet adherence; energy intake; female players; nutrient intake; soccer.
Copyright © 2024 Modena, Casiraghi and Erba.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Similar articles
-
Nutrition for Female Soccer Players-Recommendations.Medicina (Kaunas). 2020 Jan 10;56(1):28. doi: 10.3390/medicina56010028. Medicina (Kaunas). 2020. PMID: 32284520 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Dietary Intake of Polish Female Soccer Players.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Mar 29;16(7):1134. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16071134. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019. PMID: 30934885 Free PMC article.
-
Pre-season dietary intake of professional soccer players.Nutr Health. 2017 Dec;23(4):215-222. doi: 10.1177/0260106017737014. Epub 2017 Oct 16. Nutr Health. 2017. PMID: 29037118
-
Nutrient intake and food habits of soccer players: analyzing the correlates of eating practice.Nutrients. 2014 Jul 18;6(7):2697-717. doi: 10.3390/nu6072697. Nutrients. 2014. PMID: 25045939 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Pre- and post-season dietary intake, body composition, and performance indices of NCAA division I female soccer players.Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003 Sep;13(3):303-19. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.13.3.303. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003. PMID: 14669931
References
-
- FIGC . (2023). ReportCalcio 2023. Available at: https://figc.it/media/uploads/federazione/trasparenza/FIGC-ReportCalcio2... (accessed January 5, 2024).