Abstract
Introduction: American football is becoming a more and more popular sport in Poland. People practicing this sport have specific nutritional needs. A balanced and rational diet is very important in the process of training an athlete. Not only composition of the body, but also the proper diet is important of the results achieved, deciding on the athlete’s success or failure. The aim of the study is to assess the body composition and nutritional behavior of American football players.
Materials and methods: The study was conducted among 46 participants from the American football club ‘Towers Opole’. They were split into 2 groups, senior (n = 31) and junior (n = 15). The following measurements were taken: height, weight, body composition (body fat – BF, fat mass – FM, fat free mass – FFM, muscle mass – MM, total body water – TBW) and body mass index (BMI). An evaluation of nutritional behavior through the author’s questionnaire was also conducted.
Results: Seniors compared to juniors had – body height (BH): 183.1 cm vs. 174.7 cm (p < 0.01), body weight (BW): 94.5 kg vs. 81.6 kg (p < 0,01), BMI: 28 kg/m2 vs. 26.5 kg/m2 (ns), BF: 21.9% vs. 20.9% (ns), FM: 20.8 kg vs. 17.6 kg (ns), FFM: 74.9 kg vs. 66 kg (p<0.01), MM: 71.6 kg vs. 62.6 kg (p < 0.01), TBW: 56.6% vs. 57.9% (ns).
The analysis of eating behavior showed that seniors consumed meat and cold cuts every day significantly more often than juniors – 66.7% vs. 28.6% (p < 0.01), they consumed cheeses as well as cream and blue cheese more often – 99.33% vs. 71.43% (p < 0.05), they mainly supplemented liquids with mineral water – 63.33% vs. 14.29% (p > 0.05), and occasionally or not at all with energy drinks – 83.33% vs. 50.00% (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Seniors have higher values of somatic variables than juniors. The prevalence of normal eating habits among seniors and juniors is at a similar level, although the group of seniors had more favorable eating habits than the juniors.