Research

Energy balance

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and metabolic power calculations tend to underestimate energy expenditure during soccer match-play compared to indirect calorimetry, particularly during recovery phases.

Be cautious when using GPS devices to estimate calorie burn. They often underestimate energy expenditure, especially during rest periods in soccer. Use this data as a rough guide rather than an exact number when planning nutrition.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
However, when compared to indirect calorimetry, Pmet appears to underestimate EE during team sport movements involving intermittent exercise [60,61]. This may be due to significant underestimation during the recovery phases (i.e., low intensity) when VO2 remains high from the previous exercise but Pmet is low due to a lack of physical movement [62].
Andrew T. Hulton et al. · Nutrients · 2022

Why this rating

Multiple studies cited ([60,61,62,63]) consistently show underestimation by GPS/metabolic power compared to gold-standard methods.

Source

Energy Requirements and Nutritional Strategies for Male Soccer Players: A Review and Suggestions for Practice

Andrew T. Hulton et al. · Nutrients · 2022

DOI 10.3390/nu14030657

narrative_reviewCited 59×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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