Fitness Soccer Athletes Training at the University of Limpopo, South Africa: Are the Macronutrients Intake and Anthropometric Status of These Athletes Optimal?

Background: Dietary practices of the University of Limpopo soccer team athletes have been reported. However, the practices of those engaging in soccer for general fitness from different non-competitive teams remain unknown. To respond to this gap, the researchers investigated the energy, macronutrient intake, and BMI status and further correlated the two variables of the fitness non-competitive soccer athletes registered at the University of Limpopo in South Africa. Method: A quantitative study design was undertaken to conveniently sample 60 out of 90 fitness soccer athletes from the four non-competitive soccer teams at the University of Limpopo sports grounds. Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Limpopo Research and Ethics Committee, and permission was given by the university sports management and team coaches. Athletes signed the informed consent form before participating in the study. Data were collected at the soccer fields during the afternoons before the start of training. Macronutrient intake data were collected using multiple (two) 24-h recall questionnaires on different days, which were validated by the food frequency questionnaire. Weight and height were measured using a digital scale (Seca 813 electronic flat scale) and stadiometer (Seca 213 portable stadiometer) for BMI calculations, respectively. The average energy and macronutrient intakes were calculated through the SAMRC FoodFinder software (3.0). The nutrient averages, together with the BMI results, were loaded into SPSS (26.0) for further analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to report the energy, macronutrient intake, and BMI statuses of athletes using percentages, means, and standard deviations (±SD). A one-way ANOVA test was used to determine the association between the latter variables. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was the criterion used to correlate the variables. Results: All (100%) athletes were males, most of whom played soccer for 2–3 years while at the university. Almost half (48%) of athletes consumed energy (39.6 kcal/kg) below the recommendations. About 92% and 53% of athletes consumed carbohydrates (5.0 g/kg) and fat (1.2 g/kg) below the recommended values; while 43% consumed protein (1.4 g/kg) optimally. The majority (>80%) had a normal BMI (21.6 ± 2.6 kg/m(2)) status. However, there were no relationships between the energy (p = 0.383), CHO (p = 0.261), protein (p = 0.543), and fat (p = 0179) intake and the BMI status of athletes. Conclusion: The macronutrient intake of fitness soccer athletes at the University of Limpopo is, on the whole, suboptimal. However, the athletes had normal body weights. There was no association between both the energy and macronutrient intake and the anthropometric (BMI) status of soccer athletes.