An observational study in Dietary Assessment, sponsored by University Ramon Llull. Recruiting at 1 site in Spain. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-12-06.
Sponsored by University Ramon Llull · Observational
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.
University Ramon Llull is the lead sponsor of 20 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Female footballers of varying ages, playing positions and countries
Behavioral: Dietary assessment
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.
Carbohydrates
Amount of carbohydrates in grams from an average of 3 days
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Energy intake
Average of energy intake in calories over 3 days
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Protein
Average of protein in grams over 3 days
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Fat
Average of percentage of fat over 3 days
Time frame: 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
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Calcium
Average of calcium intake in milligrams over 3 days
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Vitamin D
Estimation of average of Vitamin D in micrograms over 3 days
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Iron
Average of iron intake in milligrams over 3 days
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of assessment of 3 days
Plan to share: Yes
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan
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