An evaluation of dietary practices of soccer players from an English Premier League team using a behavioural change science framework

Professional soccer players often fail to meet recommended dietary intakes. Accordingly, we aimed to quantify dietary intake of male English Premier League (EPL) players and explore the enablers and barriers influencing dietary behaviours using the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation and Behaviour (COM-B) model. Ten players from a single EPL club participated. Dietary intakes were assessed using the remote food photography method over a 4-day in-season period comprising a training day, the day before a match (MD-1), match day (MD), and the day after a match (MD + 1). On day 5, dietary recalls and semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore factors influencing dietary behaviours. Relative carbohydrate intake was significantly higher on MD-1 (4.6 ± 0.8 g·kg BM−1·day−1) than on training days (3.5 ± 0.8 g·kg BM−1·day−1, p = 0.019) and MD + 1 (3.6 ± 0.5 g·kg BM−1·day−1, p = 0.013). Knowledge (psychological capability) was the primary enabler of dietary behaviours. Key barriers included beliefs about consequences (reflective motivation), particularly the desire to feel light before and during matches and suppressed appetite post-match (automatic motivation). Reflective (desire to feel light) and automatic (suppressed appetite) motivation limited fuelling. Although knowledge supported dietary behaviours, targeted behaviour-change interventions beyond education are needed to improve carbohydrate intake.