AN INVESTIGATION OF NUTRIENT INTAKE AND FOOD HABITS AMONG FOOTBALL PLAYERS

RATIONALE

There is no comprehensive evaluation of the collective array of resources around performance, physical conditioning, and injury and training/game characteristics to guide future research and inform practitioners (Fullagar et al., 2017). Sports nutrition professionals aim to influence nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, and body composition to improve athletic performance (Devlin et al., 2017). As there is growing popularity towards football and soccer, the industry focusing on football-related scientific research presents a gap towards the attention devoted to the nutritional intake and food habits of football players. Moreover, the studies that have successfully addressed this topic impose that the dietary intake of football players is inadequate, and insufficient which hinders their sportsmanship and skill on the field as an overall athlete (Krustrup P., Mohr M., Steensberg A., Bencke J., Kjaer M., Bangsbo J, 2006).

AIMS

The primary aim of this research is to determine if significant differences exist between the practice loads associated with pre-season training camp and those undertaken during the in-season period. The underlying aim of this research paper is to cultivate a clear relationship between nutritional intake and food habits to justify the physical health of a football player’s performance in the sporting industry. Past research has suggested that programs concerning nutritional education and meal planning to promote positive and justifiable eat habits would be best for both male and female plants to optimize their performance (Burke L.M., Loucks A.B., Broad N, 2006). This paper aims to explore the ranges of eating habits that best suit professional and amateur football players of all ages to aggravate a diet that suits their desired career and also their body types as athletes holistically. Lastly, the aim is to provide an up-to-date overview of the nutritional intake, eating habits, and the relationship it has towards the performance of footballers.

METHODS

Data collection was conducted in a quiet room (to improve recording quality) via personal interviews (one on one). The interview panel asks about their routine and nutrition what they are using during their match days. The food diary consists of the questions about the diet they are using in different days, they dairy have a question about the food in their training sections, what are they getting during training and match days. The handwritten items are about their injuries and how they get out of these injuries. During lessons, what kind of nutrition they are using and how this helps them to get out of these injuries.  How they manage their diet during training and how they manage to fulfill their energy for match and how they manage to relax their muscles by proper nutrition. About the research questions at hand, the design and implementation of this study would require knowledge of nutritional intake, correlates of food selection, and food studies. Not to mention acknowledging food preferences, footballer’s positions on the football field, and analysis towards a footballer’s habitual patterns during training, rest days and match days (Stroyer J., Hansen L., Klausen K, 2004).

Ethics: An application for ethical approval will be submitted, outlining the proposed aims and method as well as highlighting the possible risks as required by the LSI Ethics sub-committee. All researchers are required to obtain a DBS before carrying out data collection.

Research Design

The research design for this study is quantitative research presented in the form of an objective questionnaire. Instead of providing the participants with questions that they are free to answer in their own words, this research will instead provide five objective answers for the individuals to choose and select the best-fit answer to their situation. The SPSS software will then compute this data to derive an accurate statistical analysis from analyzing and matching with past literature reviews and past studies upon areas similar to this study. The quantitative research participants will consist of footballers ages 18–26, both male and female. These footballers will need to be practicing in football clubs, at intermediate levels. The data pool will consist of 12 participants categorized by their position. The players will be divided into 3 positional categories: defenders (FB/CB)  (n= 4), midfielders (M) (n = 4), and forwards (F) (n = 4). This shows more clearly the positional differences in the physiological demands of soccer and the activity profile and the physical characteristics of players. Correlation between past works of literature will help aid the assessment into food studies and nutritional education to find patterns in the participant’s answers and the data collected from the 12 participants. Case studies will need to be reviewed, as well as acknowledging the introduction and trends of new food habits such as – organic products, food-on-the-go, energy bars and drinks, and vegan diets.

Statistical analyses

Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 12.0 software. The relationship between the dependent variables (e.g., nutrition knowledge, nutrition choices, nutrition practices, and athlete’s attitude toward sports enhancing diet) and the outcome variables was examined using frequencies, t-test, crosstabs with adjusted standardized residuals, and Cronbach’s alpha. Correlation coefficients were used to compare the relationship between subjects’ nutrition knowledge (NKS) with their attitude toward sports enhancing diet (ASD), their nutrition choices (NCS), and their nutrition practices (NPS). The level of statistical significance for all tests was p < 0.05.

SurveyQuestionaire

The survey tool used in this study was developed from a combination of previously administered questionnaires. The questionnaire items were structured to measure essential nutrition and sports nutrition knowledge (n = 20); nutrition quality of typical food choices (n = 7); current dietary practices based on the food guide pyramid (n = 5); likely source of information; attitudes toward nutrition (n = 20); and the intention to use proper nutrition to enhance football performance (n = 6).

References

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Devlin, Brooke L.; Leveritt, Michael D.; Kingsley, Michael; Belski, Regina. (2017) ‘Implications for Sports Nutrition Professionals in Practice.,International journal of sports nutrition and exercise metabolism, ISSN: 1543-2742, Vol: 27, Issue: 2, Page: 130-138.

Wellman, Aaron D; Coad, Sam C; Flynn, Patrick J; Siam, Ty K; McLellan, Christopher P. (2017) ‘A Comparison of Pre-Season and In-Season Practice and Game Loads in NCAA Division I Football Players., Journal of strength and conditioning research, ISSN: 1533-4287, Vol: 33, Issue: 4, Page: 1020-1027

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