Energy expenditure and dietary intake of female collegiate tennis and soccer players during a competitive season

Abstract

This study examined energy expenditure, dietary behavior, and energy balance of female tennis and soccer student-athletes during a competitive season. A sample of 18 (Mage=19.86±1.35 years) Division I female collegiate student-athletes (5 tennis and 13 soccer players) were followed for four days, i. e., during one game/match, two practice sessions, and one recovery day. Physical activity was assessed with accelerometers and dietary behavior with daily food logs. Daily energy expenditure for the game/match, practice, and rest days was 2,848±304kcal, 2,622±248kcal, and 1,833±959kcal, respectively, with a statistically significant main effect (F[2,16]=82.291, p<.001, η2=.91). Daily dietary intake ranged from 1,833±959 to 1849±371kcal, with no significant interaction between different days. There were no sport specific differences in energy expenditure or dietary behaviors. Athletes consumed 4.30±2.07 g/kg carbohydrates, 1.57±.98 g/kg protein, and 1.27±.80 g/kg fats daily. There was a significant main effect in dietary intake (F[2,16]=7.311, p=.006, η2=.48), with a difference between game/match and recovery days (t[17]=3.83, p=.001, d=1.19). This study showed a negative energy balance among female student-athletes. The findings indicate that the lack of carbohydrate intake during game/match days contributed to this energy deficit.

How Does the Dietary Intake of Female Field-Based Team Sport Athletes Compare to Dietary Recommendations for Health and Performance? A Systematic Literature Review

“…The search strategy obtained a total of 2999 articles for review, 2558 after the removal of duplicates, 154 after title screening, and 38 after abstract screening. Of the 38 articles designated for full-text review, 20 [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 25 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 ] met the criteria to proceed to data extraction and were included in the systematic review. Reasons for article exclusions are highlighted in Figure 1 .…”

“…Studies were observational in design and either cross-sectional ( n = 14) [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 29 , 30 , 38 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 46 , 47 ] or longitudinal ( n = 5) [ 25 , 31 , 32 , 39 , 45 ], with the addition of a randomized controlled trial ( n = 1) [ 40 ] where baseline data prior to the intervention was available. The majority of female field-based team sport athletes included in this review were from the United States of America ( n = 105) [ 12 , 13 , 25 , 30 , 31 , 39 , 45 ], Germany ( n = 56) [ 47 ], Australia ( n = 52) [ 15 , 16 ], and the United Kingdom ( n = 45) [ 11 , 29 , 43 ], with the remaining studies including athletes from Poland ( n = 41) [ 14 ], Canada ( n = 33) [ 46 ], Spain ( n = 28) [ 40 ], Brazil ( n = 21) [ 41 ], Japan ( n = 17) [ 32 ], the Netherlands ( n = 16) [ 38 ], and Iran ( n = 8) [ 42 ]. The majority of female field-based team sport athletes included in this review were soccer players ( n = 288) [ 11 , ...…”

“…The majority of female field-based team sport athletes included in this review were from the United States of America ( n = 105) [ 12 , 13 , 25 , 30 , 31 , 39 , 45 ], Germany ( n = 56) [ 47 ], Australia ( n = 52) [ 15 , 16 ], and the United Kingdom ( n = 45) [ 11 , 29 , 43 ], with the remaining studies including athletes from Poland ( n = 41) [ 14 ], Canada ( n = 33) [ 46 ], Spain ( n = 28) [ 40 ], Brazil ( n = 21) [ 41 ], Japan ( n = 17) [ 32 ], the Netherlands ( n = 16) [ 38 ], and Iran ( n = 8) [ 42 ]. The majority of female field-based team sport athletes included in this review were soccer players ( n = 288) [ 11 , 13 , 14 , 25 , 29 , 30 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], followed by lacrosse ( n = 57) [ 12 , 31 , 32 ], Australian rules football ( n = 52) [ 15 , 16 ], rugby sevens ( n = 29) [ 38 ], field hockey ( n = 20) [ 38 , 39 ], and touch rugby players ( n = 16) [ 43 ]. Of these athletes,...…”

“…If energy was only reported in KJ/MJ, it was converted into kcal·day −1 [ 15 , 38 ]. Similarly, if carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake were not reported in the required units, these were converted to g, g·kg·day −1 , or % TDEI [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ] to facilitate comparison across common units and against recommendations [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…From a total of 64 studies investigating the dietary intake of team sport athletes captured in previous narrative [ 5 ] and systematic reviews [ 28 ], only 29.7% ( n = 19) included female athletes and 14.1% ( n = 9) took part in field-based team sports. An increasing number of dietary intake observations in female field-based team sport athletes now exist [ 12 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], which have not yet been subject to review. Given the distinct physiological requirements of field-based team sports [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ], and the increased requirement to address issues of dietary inadequacy and LEA within female athletes [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 21 , 27 ], a systematic review focusing specifically on this population is warranted.…”