The Main Features of a Diet for Kabaddi Players

Most sports require players to maintain specific diets to achieve any results on the professional level. Kabaddi and soccer are not exceptions. Despite both being team sports, they have completely different diets, each aims to improve physical traits that are involved in the corresponding sport. Here are the main differences between kabaddi and soccer diets.

Disparities begin with the number of calories players have to consume. For example, an average person consumes around 3,000 calories, while world-class kabaddi players usually consume around 8,000 calories. Some players even raise it to 12,000. At the same time, according to the statistic data on kabaddi on SportsAdda app, professional male players consume around 3,400 calories per day on average. As we can see, the diets for soccer and kabaddi have different requirements regarding the amount of food you have to eat.

The composition of this diet is also different for both sports. In the case of the kabaddi diet, ghee or button are the primary elements of the meal, followed by a diet of chicken as well as mutton. However, in the western version of the kabaddi diet, players mostly consume eggs, juices, cornflakes or mostly oats in breakfast. The idea is to have a fat free as well as a light meal. Apart from that, the intake of fruits like apple, almost three times a day, is also followed. Such a diet is supposed to build a well-developed physique that is necessary to play kabaddi. On the contrary football diet offers very light meals as an example, a perfect soccer breakfast would include bowl of oatmeal or porridge (sweeten with dried fruit or honey), followed by 3-4 slices wholemeal bread toasted with small amount of butter/olive oil spread, jelly/jam, glass of fresh fruit juice (not concentrated), piece of fresh fruit and a plain yoghurt.

Undoubtedly, physical activity and schedule play a significant role in both soccer and kabaddi diets. For kabaddi players, a day starts at 6 a.m., which is followed by a regular schedule of jogging and basic stretching exercises. Besides their regular kabaddi practice, these athletes are asked to relax their muscles in a swimming pool. As for soccer players, they start training at 8 a.m., and their diet also heavily depends on the type of training they are currently involved in. Some research shows that competitive athletes, particularly those involved in heavyweight training, may require more protein. The recommendation for strength and endurance athletes ranges from 1.2 to a maximum of 2.0 grams per kilogram. Research has shown that consuming more protein than this serves no benefit and may be harmful in the long term.

Another thing everybody should know about kabaddi and soccer diets is that it is necessary to understand and know the game for a diet to work and actually bring results. As we know, exercises are supposed to consume the energy produced by the food. One way or another, the player has to know the game to apply own physical traits correctly. Also, it is highly recommended following professional players and listen to their advice related to diet and exercise.

As a conclusion, soccer and Kabaddi have completely different requirements for players’ physique, hence, having different diets. Kabaddi players consume lots of calories and have a one-sided diet, based on mostly milk products and bread. A soccer diet requires fewer calories and features more universal diet, based on a consumption of fruits, vegetables and a combination of protein, carbonates, and hydration. However, in both diets, exercise plays a decisive role.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.