A Nutritional and Body Composition Assessment in Costa Rican College Soccer Players aged 18 to 21 years old

Abstract

Objective: To determine macronutrient consumption and body composition in male and female soccer players. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Method: Participants were 22 male (mean age = 21.4 ± 1.9 yr.) and 19 female (mean age = 20.1 ± 1.7 yr.) players who were interviewed for dietary habits using a 7-day diet history questionnaire. Body composition was obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Total energy and macronutrient analysis was performed following the nutritional interview, and body height, weight, lean mass, fat mass (%), and intermuscular adipose tissue-free skeletal muscle mass (IMAT-SMM) were obtained from the DXA scan. Gender differences were obtained by independent samples t-tests. Results: Energy intake was higher in males (19 377 ± 5 514 kJ) than in females (13 066 ± 4 610 kJ; p ≤ 0.001). Carbohydrate intake was higher in males (10.3 ± 3.2 g/kg) than in females (7.9 ± 3.8 g/kg; p = 0.010). Protein intake was higher in males (2.2 ± 0.8 g/kg) than in females (1.6 ± 0.5; p = 0.031). Fat consumption was similar between males (1.9 ± 0.8 g/kg) and females (1.7 ± 0.6 g/kg; p = 0.117). Body height (176.0 ± 6.1 vs. 160.4 ± 3.4 cm), weight (69.3 ± 7.7 vs. 59.2 ± 6.5 kg), lean mass (26.0 ± 2.0 vs. 16.9 ± 1.4 kg), and IMAT-SMM (31.0 ± 2.3 vs. 20.2 ± 1.6 kg) mean values were higher in males than in females (p ≤ 0.001 for all). Fat mass was higher in females (31.4 ± 6.4 %) than in males (14.8 ± 5.2 %; p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Excessive energy and carbohydrate intake was found in both genders. Protein and fat intake were appropriate for both genders. Body composition in males was similar to previously reported literature; however, females showed poor body composition compared to international values.