does the amount of food you eat affect how you play soccer?

Question

I am at school and I have a science project, Does the amount of food have an affect of how you kick a soccer ball? I can't find any useful recorces on any of the search engines, and I was wondering if anyone here could help me. Thanks, Zack.

Answer 1

Well, the answer to your question is YES! the amount of food a person eats or doesn't eat will affect everything they do......playing soccer ball takes a fair amount of energy so enough food would need to be eaten in order to perform well enough during the game....it's right to say also that to perform properly a person would need to be fairly fit, don't want to be collapsing half way through from sheer exhaustion. However it's not just the amount of food a person needs to consider....it would also be a deciding factor to choose a mixture of carbs, protein & fats to promote good health & a good weight suitable to that particular individual.....Too much food eaten before playing soccer [or doing any other activity for that matter] would have an adverse effect too as over-eating doesn't just cause weight gain but also induces sleep & sluggishness......not eating enough of the correct foods before playing soccer will affect the players performance as nausea or feeling light headed would occur......perhaps even causing the player to faint. A good balance would be to stop eating when feeling satisfied, not to go for the full or overstuffed sensation.

Remember though, it's more important to be eating the correct types of food rather than just filling up on junk foods & fizzy drinks, it's not all about just taking in a certain amount of calories [energy units] it has to be the right ones.......

Having said all that, eating a meal less than 2 hours before the game wouldn't be a good idea....a small snack of say an energy bar would suffice....chocolates not a good idea though as any high energy released from eating chocolate would be quickly followed by a dip in energy & you wouldn't want that.....

Answer 2

THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE - VOL 26 - NO. 9 - SEPTEMBER 98
http://www.fitnessforoneandall.com/guest/article/nutrition/eating_before.htm

Many casual exercisers and competitive athletes believe they should avoid food for several hours before they exercise or compete. Others wonder if they should snack, perhaps on an energy bar before a soccer game. And a few are so nervous that even the thought of food is nauseating.
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/dfrankl/soccer/nutrfit.htm
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1998/09sep/eating.htm
http://www.collierville-soccer.org/lobos/Eating%20Before%20Competing.pdf
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0035.htm
http://www.wcusc.org/docs/Travel/91G2/eating.htm
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I have found several links for information on the subject , please note my source below and how I found it.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

Food in effect has calories. and the amount of food is in direct relation to the amount of calories you ingest. when playing sports, or any other rigorous activity, those calories play a part in your performance. too little food/calories will not allow you to work at the level you should. too much food in any case will be excess weight and calories unburned will not help you either.