title: Nutritional intake of French soccer players at the clairefontaine training center.
abstract: Young, French male athletes undergoing intensive elite sports training at the National Training Centre in Clairefontaine served as the subjects (N = 180; age range: 13 to 16 years) in a 3-year dietary survey aimed at characterizing their nutritional intake in terms of energy, macronutrients, calcium, and iron. Each year, the subjects were grouped by level into 3 promotions so that 9 groups could be studied. Dietary intake data were collected each year for each subject in the 9 groups, using a 5-day food record. The results showed that their total energy intake (TEI) was insufficient for athletes (ranging from 2352   454 to 3395   396 kcal/d as opposed to the recommended range of between 3819 and 5185 kcal/d). Furthermore, their diet was unbalanced, with too great an emphasis upon fatty foods (29.1   2.8 to 34.1   3.1% TEI vs. the 20% recommended), to the detriment of carbohydrates (48.5   4.3 to 56.6   3.1% TEI vs. the 55 to 60% recommended). The calcium intake was too low in 5 of the 9 groups while, in contrast, the iron intake was satisfactory in all groups. Furthermore, during this 3-year period at the Clairefontaine Centre, the subjects significantly (p <.05) improved their calcium and iron intakes (1021   197 and 12   2 mg/d in 1996, 1299   155 and 16   2 mg/d in 1997, and 1252   184 and 17   2 mg/d in 1998). This rise in micronutrient intakes may have been due to a physiological adaptation to growth or to the positive effects of courses on nutrition given during their stay at the Centre.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 147 rue de l'Universite, 75 338 Paris cedex 07, France.
authors.forename: J Ch
authors.initials: JCh
authors.lastname: Leblanc
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Le Gall
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grandjean
authors.forename: Ph
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verger
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D001823:Body Composition; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D005602:France; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology*; D013334:Students
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D019266:Iron, Dietary