Evaluation of nutrition, body composition, and sports performance in professional players from a Paraguayan first-division soccer club

Abstract

Introduction. Physical exhaustion causes a reduction in the energy reserves of the professional soccer player, which must be recovered through a correct diet. Objective. To evaluate nutrition, body composition, and sports performance in male professional soccer players from a Paraguayan first-division soccer club, July 2020. Methodology. A descriptive cross-sectional study with secondary data, and convenience sampling was carried out from 33 files. of players. Nutritional history data were extracted to assess the adequacy of calorie and macronutrient intake to requirements, anthropometric measurements to calculate lean and fat mass, and performance tests. Results. The average energy intake was 3403.58±747.93 kcal, carbohydrates 507.63±130.26 g, proteins 175.71±27.93 g, and fats 73.89±26.02. g, which are deficient except for proteins whose intake was adequate. Regarding muscle mass, it was 39.73 ± 4.57 kg, 51.30 ± 2.25%. and the fat mass of 14.32 ± 3.06 kg, 18.36 ± 2.66%, the percentages of fat and lean mass were ideal in 75.7% and 81.8% of the soccer players, respectively; 84.8% of the soccer players presented average to excellent levels for aerobic power and 51.6% were found to have low strength-power jump ranges. Conclusion. The first-division professional soccer players evaluated present an unbalanced diet in terms of calories and macronutrients, with a body composition and aerobic power that are mostly adequate to the physical requirement of the sport.