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NCT Number: NCT06713954

Analysis of Dietary Intake in Professional Female Football Players

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Dietary Assessment

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Blanquerna Institute, Universitat Ramon Llull

Barcelona, 08010, Spain

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Olivia C. Coope

CONTACT

[email protected]

+34932533256

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Female or assigned female at birth
  • Playing football professionally
  • At a sub-elite to elite standard
  • Above the age of 18
  • Healthy and free of disease

Exclusion criteria

  • Active supplementation with ergogenic aids
  • Active pregnancy
  • No signing of the consent form

Treatment and study plan

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.

Primary outcomes

  1. Carbohydrates

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Amount of carbohydrates in grams from an average of 3 days

  2. Energy intake

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Average of energy intake in calories over 3 days

  3. Protein

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Average of protein in grams over 3 days

  4. Fat

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Average of percentage of fat over 3 days

  5. Energy availability

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    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

Secondary outcomes

  1. Calcium

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Average of calcium intake in milligrams over 3 days

  2. Vitamin D

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Estimation of average of Vitamin D in micrograms over 3 days

  3. Iron

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days

    Average of iron intake in milligrams over 3 days

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Olivia C. Coope

CONTACT

[email protected]+34932533256

+34932533256

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Ramon Llull

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Analysis of Dietary Intake in Professional Female Football Players: Variations According to Playing Position, Age, and Country

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Dec 3, 2024
Registry last updated
Dec 6, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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