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This study evaluates the dietary intake of professional female footballers against nutritional guidelines, analysing differences by age, position, and location (UK vs Spain). Using a cross-sectional design, it will include 20-30 players per club from four clubs, aged 18+, collected via the Snap-N-Send method and analysed with Nutritics software. Variables include energy intake, macronutrients, and micronutrients, with data assessed using MANOVA, t-tests, and Shapiro-Wilk tests. The aim is to determine dietary adequacy and provide insights to improve nutrition education and wellbeing for female athletes.
The aim of this research is to evaluate the dietary intake of female footballers against established nutritional guidelines, while analysing the variables of age, playing position and location to identify if there is a difference in intake across the groups. The study will employ an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional research design, focusing on female footballers from professional clubs, specifically two clubs in United Kingdom and two clubs in Spain. There is an anticipated sample size of 20 to 30 participants from each club. Inclusion criteria will be female participants who are professional footballers, aged 18 and older and free of disease. Dependent variables from dietary intake will include energy intake (kcal), energy availability (kcal/kg fat free mass/day), protein (g/day), carbohydrates (g/day), fat (%), vitamin D (mg/day), calcium (mg/day) and iron (mg/day). These will be collected using the scientifically valid Snap-N-Send method and analysed with Nutritics dietary analysis software, which has been validated for assessing macronutrients and micronutrients. Independent variables will consist of age groups, playing positions, and country of origin (England or Spain). Dietary intake will be recorded through WhatsApp, with subsequent data entry and storage in Nutritics. Statistical analyses will include MANOVA, used to compare dietary data among groups, one-sample t-test to test against published recommendations and the Shapiro-Wilk test to assess normality in data distribution. This study aims to assess the adequacy of the players' dietary intake in relation to established nutritional recommendations from different backgrounds and characteristics. Furthermore, practitioners can potentially make informed decisions that improve the nutrition education given to female athletes, which contributes to their overall health and wellbeing.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female footballers | Female footballers of varying ages, playing positions and countries |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dietary assessment | Behavioral | Dietary intake data will be collected using the Snap-N-Send method, a tool with enhanced validity for assessing athlete total energy intake, where participants will take photographs of their meals and share them via WhatsApp directly with the researcher. Before the study commences, participants will receive standardised instructions on photographing food and adding details in the message such as title, portion sizes and ingredients alongside each photo to enhance data precision. The principal investigator will input these photographs with the added information into Nutritics dietary analysis software, where food weights, portion sizes, and nutritional content will be estimated and calculated. Nutritics will then calculate dependent variables and convert it into a food diary report, aggregating the three days of food diary into average intake. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrates | Amount of carbohydrates in grams from an average of 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Energy intake | Average of energy intake in calories over 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Protein | Average of protein in grams over 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Fat | Average of percentage of fat over 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Energy availability | Energy availability will be calculated by estimating fat-free mass (FFM) through the Boer equation, which uses weight and height. The formula for females is FFM (kg) = 0.252 × Weight (kg) + 0.473 × Height (cm) - 48.3. Total energy intake (TEI) will be determined from average daily calorie intake. Exercise energy expenditure (EEE) will be estimated based on activity duration and MET values using the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., 2011). The resulting EA will be calculated using the formula: EA = (TEI - EEE) / FFM. The outcome will be an average of kcal/kg fat free mass/day over 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium | Average of calcium intake in milligrams over 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Vitamin D | Estimation of average of Vitamin D in micrograms over 3 days |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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Age=
Playing position=
Country=
| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivia C. Coope | Contact | +34932533256 | oliviacharlottec@blanquerna.url.edu+34932533256 |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Blanca Roman Viñas, PhD | Universitat Ramon Llull | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blanquerna Institute, Universitat Ramon Llull | Recruiting | Barcelona | 08010 | Spain |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D015596 | Nutrition Assessment |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D003625 | Data Collection |
| D004812 | Epidemiologic Methods |
| D008919 | Investigative Techniques |
| D017531 | Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms |
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|
| From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| Iron | Average of iron intake in milligrams over 3 days | From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days |
| D011787 | Quality of Health Care |
| D017530 | Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation |
| D015991 | Epidemiologic Measurements |
| D011634 | Public Health |
| D004778 | Environment and Public Health |