Inadequate fueling relative to training demands leads to reduced energy availability, particularly on training days, and is associated with a lower recovery profile in young sub-elite Moroccan football players.
Key Findings
Results
Mean daily energy intake did not differ significantly between match, training, and rest days, while energy availability was significantly lower on training days compared with match and rest days.
Study monitored 19 outfield U21 players from a national championship in Morocco over four in-season weeks.
Energy intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recalls on one training day, one rest day, and one official match day per week, quantified using Nutrilog software.
Mean daily EI did not differ significantly between match, training, and rest days (p = 0.066).
Energy availability was significantly lower on training days compared with match and rest days (both p ≤ 0.003).
Exercise energy expenditure was estimated and energy availability was calculated to determine this disparity.
Results
Higher energy availability was strongly associated with lower RPE and modestly associated with higher Perceived Recovery Status.
Higher EA was strongly associated with lower RPE (ρ = -0.597, p < 0.001).
Higher EA was modestly associated with higher PRS 24-h post-session (ρ = 0.273, p = 0.001).
Internal load was assessed using session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and subjective recovery with the Perceived Recovery Status (PRS) scale 24-h post-session.
The association between EA and countermovement jump height was small and non-significant (ρ = 0.124, p = 0.132).
Results
Higher energy intake showed a moderate inverse correlation with RPE and a small positive correlation with Perceived Recovery Status, but no significant association with countermovement jump height.
Higher EI showed a moderate inverse correlation with RPE (ρ = -0.404, p < 0.001).
Higher EI showed a small positive correlation with PRS (ρ = 0.173, p = 0.035).
No significant association was found between EI and countermovement jump height.
Neuromuscular recovery was assessed via countermovement jump (CMJ) height.
Results
Across energy availability categories, RPE, PRS, and CMJ all differed significantly.
RPE, PRS, and CMJ all differed significantly across EA categories (p ≤ 0.014).
This categorical analysis supported the continuous correlation findings linking EA to recovery outcomes.
Players were categorized into EA groups to examine dose-response relationships between fueling adequacy and recovery markers.
Results
The study found that football players did not adjust energy intake to match the higher exercise energy expenditure on training days, creating a relative energy deficit.
Despite higher exercise energy expenditure on training days, energy intake remained similar across match, training, and rest days.
This pattern resulted in significantly lower energy availability specifically on training days.
The finding suggests players were not compensating nutritionally for increased training demands.
The authors note that 'inadequate fueling relative to training demands leads to reduced EA, particularly on training days.'
Discussion
The authors recommend monitoring energy availability alongside simple field-based markers such as RPE and PRS to identify periods of suboptimal fueling.
RPE and PRS are described as 'simple field-based markers' suitable for practical monitoring by practitioners.
The authors suggest these markers may help practitioners 'adjust nutritional strategies accordingly.'
The study population was restricted to 19 outfield U21 players, limiting generalizability.
The authors note that data on energy availability in male football players and its relationship with post-exercise recovery 'remain limited.'
What This Means
This research studied 19 young sub-elite Moroccan football players (under 21 years old) over four weeks during their competitive season to understand how their daily food intake related to their recovery after training and matches. The researchers tracked what players ate using 24-hour dietary recall interviews on training days, rest days, and match days, and measured recovery using perceived effort ratings, a self-reported recovery scale, and jump height tests. They found that players ate roughly the same amount of food regardless of whether it was a hard training day, a match day, or a rest day — even though training days required significantly more energy. This mismatch meant players had considerably less 'energy available' to their bodies on training days compared to other days.
The study found that when players had higher energy availability — meaning their food intake better matched their energy expenditure — they reported lower perceived effort and better recovery the following day. These associations were statistically meaningful, particularly the link between energy availability and perceived effort (a strong inverse relationship) and perceived recovery (a modest positive relationship). Interestingly, jump height, a physical measure of neuromuscular recovery, did not show a significant relationship with energy availability, suggesting that subjective feelings of effort and recovery may be more sensitive early indicators of insufficient fueling than objective physical performance tests.
This research suggests that young football players may not be naturally adjusting how much they eat to account for the extra demands of training days, which could compromise their recovery. Practical tools like perceived exertion and recovery ratings may help coaches and nutritionists spot when players are under-fueled, even without expensive laboratory testing. Addressing fueling habits — particularly ensuring adequate carbohydrate and overall caloric intake on high-demand training days — could be an accessible strategy for supporting athlete recovery and potentially reducing injury risk or performance decline over a competitive season.
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Ait Aammi Hadi E, El Ouali E, Akhittouch A, Rimy H, Zehhaf F, Kassimi K, et al.. (2026). Association between dietary intake, energy availability, and recovery in young sub-elite Moroccan football players.. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2026.2730213