title: Food preferences do not influence adolescent high-level athletes' dietary intake.
abstract: To assess the influence of preferences on food and nutritional intake in a group of adolescent high-level athletes, 22 male soccer players (14-16 years) were recruited. Individuals were asked to fill in a specific questionnaire including 15 food groups that had to be ranked according to their preferences. Three categories were established: "Like" (ranked 1-5), "Indifferent" (6-10), and "Dislike" (11-15). Dietary intake was assessed using the weighed food method (for nutrient intake) and a quantitative open-ended food frequency questionnaire (for the number of standard portions of each food group ingested daily). The main preferences were Meat, poultry and derivates (ranked 1-5 in 83% of individuals) and Pasta (58%), while Vegetables (ranked 11-15 in 82%) and Fish (64%) were the main dislikes. The most frequently consumed food groups were Fruits and fruit juices (3.9 portions/day), Bread (3.0), and Biscuits, confectionery and sweets (3.0). No statistical differences were found in food consumption between preference groups, and no relation was found between preferences and nutritional intake, except for those individuals who especially like Bread, which had statistically higher energy and carbohydrate intake. Food preferences and food and nutritional intake of adolescent high-level soccer players were, effectively, unrelated.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Funcional, Area de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Julián Clavería s/n, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. eiglesias@ceu.es
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iglesias-Gutiérrez
authors.forename: Pablo M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: García-Rovés
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Angeles M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D054874:Athletic Performance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012916:Soccer; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires