Dietary Pattern and Body Composition of Professional Football Players in Ghana
Implications on Fitness and Performance
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Abstract
Optimal nutrition is essential for professional football performance, yet limited data exist on the dietary habits and body composition of athletes in African contexts. This gap hampers the development of culturally appropriate sports nutrition guidelines and may compromise both performance and long-term health amid ongoing nutritional transitions. The study aimed to identify the main dietary patterns of professional footballers in Northern Ghana, assess their body composition, and determine associations between dietary intake, food groups, and Body Mass Index (BMI). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 119 professional male footballers from five Division One teams. Dietary intake was assessed using a 7-day Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), while body fat, muscle mass, and visceral fat were measured via bio-impedance analysis. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified dietary patterns, and linear regression examined associations between diet and BMI. Three dietary patterns explained 49.9% of total variance: “Fruits and Vegetables,” “Modern Ghanaian” (soft drinks, plant protein), and “Typical Ghanaian” (starchy staples, animal protein). Anthropometric results showed 37.8% of players were overweight (35.3%) or obese (2.5%), with a mean BMI of 24.48 ± 4.0 kg/m². Visceral fat was strongly correlated with BMI (r = 0.876, p < 0.01), while muscle mass was negatively correlated with body fat (r = -0.904, p < 0.01). Animal protein and cereal/grain intake significantly predicted 8% and 18% of BMI variation, respectively. The high prevalence of excess body weight among professional footballers in Northern Ghana suggests a mismatch between dietary habits and athletic demands. Targeted, culturally sensitive nutrition education and structured body composition management are urgently needed to enhance performance and protect long-term health.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Kasim Abdulai, Frank Ekow Atta Hayford, Wisdom Kudzo Axame, Abdul Rauf Alhassan, Charles A. Brown (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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