Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Body Composition and Performance in Soccer Players

Antonio Paoli16 enrolled

Overview

A ketogenic diet (KD) is a nutritional approach, usually adopted for weight loss, that restricts daily carbohydrates under 30 g/day. KD showed contradictory results on sport performance, whilst no data are available on team sports. The investigators will investigate the influence of a KD on different parameters in soccer players

Sixteen semi-professional soccer players will be randomly assigned to a ketogenic diet (KD n=8) or to a western diet (WD n=8). Diets contain the same amount of protein (1.8g/Kg body weight/day). Body weight and body composition will be measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Resting energy expenditure (REE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), cross sectional area (CSA) and isometric muscle strength of quadriceps, counter movement jump (CMJ) and yoyo intermittent recovery test will be measured.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Athletic Performance

Interventions

Western dietOTHER

Subjects in this intervention will follow a normal western diet

ketogenic dietOTHER

Subjects in this group will follow a low carbohydrate ketogenic diet

Eligibility

Sex: MALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 30 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria * semiprofessional soccer players * male Exclusion Criteria: * body fat percentage over 32%, (determined via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry DEXA), * cardiovascular, * respiratory, gastrointestinal, * thyroid or any other metabolic diseases, * weight change more than 2 Kg over the last month, * adherence to special diets, * use of nutritional supplements (except a daily multivitamin-mineral) * use of medication to control blood lipids or glucose and goal-keepers.

Locations (1)

Nutrition and Exercise Lab, DSB, University of Padova

Padua, Italy

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Fat body mass

Body composition with DEXA: we measure body fat mass in grams.

Time frame: 4 weeks

lean body mass

Body composition with DEXA: we measure lean body mass in grams.

Time frame: 4 weeks

Visceral Adipose tissue (VAT)

Body composition with DEXA: VAT in grams

Time frame: 4 weeks

Total body water

We will use a BIA to calculate totally body water and intracellular and extracellular water in liters

Time frame: 4 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

resting energy expenditure (REE)

Measured through gas analyzer in ml/02/kg min

Time frame: 4 weeks

respiratory ratio (RR)

Measured through gas analyses (ratio between CO2 and O2)

Time frame: 4 weeks

specific performance

Yoyo intermittent recovery test level 1: in seconds

Time frame: 4 weeks

lower limb power

squat jump test: height of the jump in cm

Time frame: 4 weeks

quadriceps muscle area

muscle area measured in cm2 through ultrasound

Time frame: 4 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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