Association between nutritional counseling attendance, dietary quality, and disordered eating behaviors in youth football players
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v74.117590Keywords:
adolescent, food quality, eating behavior, disordered eating, soccerAbstract
Introduction: Youth soccer players face nutritional risks associated with competitive demands and the formative environment. Evidence regarding the role of nutritional counseling attendance in this population remains limited.
Objective: To analyze the association between nutritional counseling attendance, food quality, and disordered eating behaviors in youth soccer players from clubs affiliated with the Chilean National Professional Football Association.
Methodology: Cross-sectional study involving 581 soccer players aged 14 to 19 years from 24 clubs in Chile’s First Division A and B. The Global Food Quality Index and the risk eating behavior subscale of the E-TONA instrument were applied. Spearman correlations, simple linear regressions, and logistic regressions with 95% confidence intervals were used.
Results: Higher frequency of nutritional counseling attendance was significantly associated with better overall food quality (p < 0.001), greater consumption of fruits (p = 0.001), vegetables, lunch and dinner, and lower intake of sweets (p < 0.001) and fried foods (p < 0.001). In addition, lower odds of experiencing binge eating (p = 0.002), constant hunger (p < 0.001), and eating until feeling completely full (p = 0.003) were observed. Differences in food quality were also identified according to competitive division (p = 0.018).
Conclusions: Higher frequency of nutritional counseling attendance was associated with better food quality and lower odds of disordered eating behaviors in youth soccer players, reinforcing the importance of nutritional interventions from formative stages.
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