Dietary intake, body composition and performance of professional football athletes in Slovenia

Neoptimalna prehrana lahko vpliva na nogometno neuspešnost ter zdravstvene zaplete. To je prva raziskava prehranskega statusa slovenskih profesionalnih nogometašev. Analizirali smo prehranski vnos nogometašev v pripravljalni fazi sezone in preučili, če obstaja povezava med prehranskim vnosom ter sestavo telesa in telesno zmogljivostjo. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 23 nogometašev s povprečno starostjo 24 let. Pusto telesno maso (FFM) in maščobno telesno maso (TM) smo izmerili bioelektrično impedančno vektorsko analizo. Nogometaši so izpolnili tri dnevni dnevnik prehranjevanja in telesne dejavnosti. Prehranske dnevnike smo analizirani v programu PRODI, rezultate pa primerjali z nacionalnimi referenčnimi vrednostmi in prehranskimi priporočili Združenja evropskih nogometnih zvez (UEFA). Energijsko razpoložljivost smo izračunali iz podatkov o energijskem vnosu (EV), energijskih porabi za telesno dejavnost in FFM. Za statistično analizo smo uporabili Wilcoxonov test vsote rangov, Welchov T test, enostranski t-test, Shapiro-Wilkov test ter Pearsonov koeficient korelacije (r). Energijska razpoložljivost in povprečni vnos ogljikovih hidratov sta bila nižja od priporočil UEFA (< 40 kcal/kg FFM< 4 g/kg TM). Vnos beljakovin (1,8 ± 0,5 g/kg TM) in maščob (34,7 ± 5,2 %) je bil glede na priporočila UEFA (1,6–2,2 g/kg TM20–35 %) ustrezen. Neustrezen je bil vnos nasičenih maščob (10,5 ± 3,8 % celodnevnega EV), vlaknin (27,4 ± 10,2 g), kalcija (964,2 ± 298,8 mg) in vitamina D (4,1 ± 3,1 µg). Pokazali smo negativno korelacijo med deležem maščobne mase in vnosom ogljikovih hidratov (p = 0,032) ter pozitivno korelacijo med vnosom beljakovin in deležem FFM (p = 0,049). 15 nogometašev je sodelovalo v drugem delu raziskave, v meritvi telesne zmogljivosti s Cooperjevim testom na tekalni stezi. Pokazali smo negativno korelacijo med pretečeno razdaljo ter deležem energije iz maščob (p = 0,037). Naša raziskava poudarja potrebo po ureditvi prehranskih navad profesionalnih nogometašev.Suboptimal nutrition can contribute to football underperformance and health complications. This is the first study on the nutritional status of Slovenian professional football players. We analysed the nutritional intake of football players during the pre-season and investigated whether there is a relationship between nutritional intake and body composition and physical performance. 23 football players took part in the study, with an average age of 24 years. Lean body mass (FFM) and fat body mass (BM) were measured by bioelectrical impedance. Football players completed a 3-day food and physical activity diary. The diaries were analysed in PRODI and the results were compared with national reference values and the UEFA dietary recommendations. Energy availability (EA) was calculated from data on energy intake (EI), energy expenditure for exercise and FFM. For statistical analysis, we used the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, Welch\u27s t-test, one-sided t-test, Shapiro-Wilk test and Pearson\u27s correlation coefficient (r). EA and average carbohydrate intake were lower than UEFA recommendations (< 40 kcal/kg FFM< 4 g/kg BM). The intakes of protein (1.8 ± 0.5 g/kg BM) and fat (34.7 ± 5.2% daily EI) were adequate according to UEFA recommendations. Intakes of saturated fat, fibre, calcium and vitamin D were inadequate. We showed a negative correlation between fat mass and carbohydrate intake (p = 0.032) and a positive correlation between protein intake and FFM (p = 0.049). 15 football players took part in the second part of the study, the Cooper treadmill test to measure physical performance. We found a negative correlation between distance travelled and the proportion of energy from fat (p = 0.037). Our research highlights the need to regulate the dietary habits of professional footballers