Many female soccer players at the top level eat too little to be able to perform at their best during matches and in training. This is shown by a new study from UiT Norway’s Arctic University. Mali Motrøen Trøan plays in the first division club TIL 2020. She believes that a lack of knowledge, both among the players and the support staff, is one of the reasons for the lack of energy. – I think many female athletes are conscious about diet. At the same time, I think it is rooted in a lack of knowledge, with carbohydrates in particular, says Motrøen Trøan. Mali Motrøen Trøan plays in the first division and believes that more people drop out of sports because they do not have a balanced diet. Photo: Simen Wingstad / news Scholarship holder at UiT, Marcus Dasa, says the study shows that female soccer players do not eat enough carbohydrates. – When they have to train hard, they do not increase their carbohydrate intake, which means that they are neither recovered nor ready to give it their all, says research fellow Marcus Dasa. He explains that carbohydrates are the energy source that is used most for hard training. – If you don’t get enough carbohydrates, then in a way the body will not have the same starting point to be able to perform at the highest level. Several of the players in the study had low access to energy. In the long term, this can lead to, among other things, the loss of menstruation, decreased metabolism and reduced bone density. – I think many people fall by the wayside First division player Motrøen Trøan in Tromsø points out that a poor diet can make you more vulnerable to injury and that you can lose training motivation. – You don’t have the energy to put in the training effort needed to reach the top. I think many people drop out of sports because they don’t balance their diet well enough. Many people still fight for equality in football, but even so there are physical differences that you have to keep in mind. Co-star Veronika Sæthre thinks so. – Women are built quite differently from men, says Sæthre. She points out that men may be more focused on fat percentage, or whether you are light or heavy, and believes it is wrong to compare men and women. – You can be a great female athlete without having a six pack or being razor thin. It shouldn’t be the same. Body pressure Dasa is unsure what could be the reason why female footballers eat too little. He points out that studies have been carried out in England which show that many people are influenced by the discussion in society and on social media. – That one should not eat carbohydrates is quite popular among ordinary people, but does not correspond at all to what athletes should do, says Dasa. Veronika Sæthre believes that more transparency about the diet is important. Photo: Simen Wingstad / news Sæthre herself has not experienced physical pressure among female soccer players. She can imagine that there could be a focus on, for example, the sports department at high school, where many different sports come together. – Then there may be more focus on how you look, more than how you perform. She believes it is important to be open about the diet. – Focus on the fact that it is a performance sport. It’s about performing on the field. Then you can’t live on the bare minimum, to look like this and like that.
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Female soccer players eat too little – news Troms and Finnmark
