Influence of food ingestion on performance and body composition of football players

Football is a sports modality made up of intermittent exercises that draws attention in Brazil both for the cultural issue and for the high numbers it moves. The present study aimed to correlate food intake with the performance and body composition of football players from an amateur team in a city in the interior of SP. Twenty-two athletes were evaluated, which were evaluated: anthropometry (weight and height), body composition by Bioimpedance (BIA), food consumption through 24-hour recalls and cardiorespiratory fitness by physical test (Yo-Yo). The average age of the athletes was 23.4 +/- 4.48 years, and they were allocated in groups according to their respective positions: group 1 (goalkeepers and defenders), group 2 (wingers), group 3 (defensive midfielders) and group 4 (attackers and midfield). Goalkeepers and defenders had a higher body weight than other players. No statistical differences were found for the other variables, with the percentage of body fat ranging between 15.83 and 19.73 and the lean mass between 80.27 to 84.17. When correlating the intake of carbohydrates and calories with the performance in the Yo-Yo test and of proteins with the body composition of the players, no statistically significant values were found. Thus, it is concluded that the athletes' food intake would probably not be the only factor that may interfere in these variables in question.