Clinical trial NCT06713954: Analysis of Dietary Intake in Professional Female Football Players
Official title: Analysis of Dietary Intake in Professional Female Football Players: Variations According to Playing Position, Age, and Country
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Conditions: Dietary Assessment
Keywords: athlete
female
diet
Lead sponsor: University Ramon Llull
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-12-03
Enrollment: 100
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: * Age=

  * 18-24 years of age
  * 25-31 years of age
* Playing position=

  * Defenders: Centre-backs, fullbacks, wingbacks, goalkeepers
  * Midfielders: Central midfielders, attacking midfielders, defensive midfielders
  * Wingers: Left wingers and right wingers
  * Forwards: Strikers and centre-forwards
* Country=

  * England
  * Spain

Brief summary: 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.

Detailed description: 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.

Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Carbohydrates
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
measure: Energy intake
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
measure: Protein
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
measure: Fat
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
measure: Energy availability
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Calcium
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
measure: Vitamin D
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
measure: Iron
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Barcelona
country: Spain
facility: Blanquerna Institute, Universitat Ramon Llull
Study officials:
affiliation: Universitat Ramon Llull
name: Blanca Roman Viñas, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: