Macronutrient Intake in Soccer Players—A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The nutrition of soccer players is an important topic and its knowledge may help to increase the quality of this popular game and prevent possible health problems and injuries in players. This meta-analysis aims to estimate the current dietary trends of three basic macronutrients in junior and senior soccer players during the first two decades of the 21st century. We analyzed data from 647 junior players (mean age 10.0–19.3) from 27 groups, and 277 senior (mean age 20.7–27.1) players from 8 groups from altogether 21 papers in this meta-analysis. Weighted averages were calculated for each macronutrients. Protein intake is higher than recommended in both juniors, 1.9 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8–2.0 g/kg/day, and seniors 1.8 95% CI 1.6–2.0 g/kg/day. However, carbohydrate intake is still below the recommended values in both groups (5.7 95% CI 5.5–5.9 g/kg/day in junior and 4.7 95% CI 4.3–5.0 g/kg/day in senior players). The proportion of fat as total energy intake is in concordance with the recommendations (31.5 95% CI 32.0–35.9% in junior and 33.1 95% CI 29.9–36.2% in senior players). In particular, due to possible health complications, the small carbohydrate intake should be alarming for coaches, nutritional experts, and parents.

Nutrition Knowledge is Correlated with a Better Dietary Intake in Adolescent Soccer Players: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…is nding is in agreement with a meta-analysis performed by Ste et al [36] regarding the macronutrient intake of soccer players. e authors suggested that soccer players may restrict carbohydrate as a consequence of warnings about carbohydrates overuse in the general population.…”

Assessment of the Dietary Intake of High-Rank Professional Male Football Players during a Preseason Training Week

“…Recently, Kerksick et al [ 16 ] suggest that football players’ protein needs range from 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg body mass/day of high quality protein and might be increased to 2.0 g/kg body mass/day for short periods of intensive training, especially during the preparatory period. Current reports indicate that a protein intake above 1.7 g/kg body mass/day does not have a significant impact on the rate of muscle fiber regeneration in the post-workout period, nor will it improve myofibrillar synthesis [ 3 , 36 ]. Having this information in mind, the consumption of doses higher than 2.0 g/kg body mass/day is not required, especially when the athletes have long workouts and the breaks between meals are short, which makes it difficult to consume larger food portions.…”

“…Football players use both anaerobic and aerobic systems to fuel performance. Therefore, players depending on the nature of training, match-playing, and periods of training, will have unique energy demands and nutrient requirements [ 1 , 2 , 3 ].…”

“…It showed irregularities in the supply of macronutrients: proteins and carbohydrates. The authors of the research suggest that an inadequate diet may have a significant impact on the health and exercise capacity of players [ 3 ]. The literature contains little data on the evaluation of the dietary intake of top-level Polish football players.…”

The Connection Between the Agility of Adolescent Soccer Players and Their Body Composition

“…There is evidence that athletes who are hydrated can perform better than dehydrated ones (Kiitam et al, 2018). Cooperation between athletes, parents, coaches and sports dieticians is required to do an efficient nutritional program (Steffl, Kinkorova, Kokstejn, & Petr, 2019).…”