photo from FreePik

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Think of a pro football player. What words come to mind? Perhaps muscle, strength, power, speed. Depending on their position, players are estimated to require between 5,300 calories per day for a quarterback and 6,350 calories per day for an offensive lineman. Protein needs are high. The International Olympic Committee recommends that high-performance athletes get 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram body weight per day in order to maximize strength and muscle mass (1). That’s 0.73 grams of protein for every pound that a player weighs. Thus, a 315 pound offensive lineman would need 230 grams of protein daily.

Not surprisingly, football players are commonly encouraged to eat meat, lots of meat, along with other animal-based protein sources (2). Also, not surprisingly, cardiovascular diseases (conditions that can lead to events like heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure) are the most common cause of death among former NFL players (3). What if there’s another, healthier way to meet nutritional needs that doesn’t involve lots of meat and other animal products but that supplies recommended amounts of calories and protein and other nutrients?

Can a vegan diet be planned to meet the nutritional needs of professional football players? Researchers used existing data about NFL athletes to calculate calorie needs of pro football players (2). They then used information on the dietary intakes of vegans and scaled up the amounts of food these vegans ate to develop theoretical vegan diets that would meet the calorie needs of pro football players. When they did this, the resulting diets easily met or exceeded recommended protein intakes for pro football players. The theoretical vegan diets also supplied the recommended amount of leucine, an amino acid, for those wanting to maximize muscle development. The diets met recommendations for all nutrients. Fortified foods or supplements are needed to meet recommendations for vitamins B12 and D.

Vegan diets can be used by athletes with high nutrient and calorie needs like professional football players. They can also meet the needs of recreational athletes and less active individuals.

References

1. Maughan RJ, Burke LM, Dvorak J, et al. IOC Consensus Statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2018;28:104-125.
2. Goldman DM, Warbeck CB, Karlsen MC. protein requirements for maximal muscle mass and athletic performance are achieved with completely plant-based diets scaled to meet energy needs: A modeling study in professional American football players. Nutrients. 2024;16:1903.
3. Nguyen VT, Zafonte RD, Chen JT, et al. Mortality among professional American-style football players and professional American baseball players. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2:e194223.

To read more about vegan diets for athletes see:

Athletes & Vegan/Vegetarian Diets

Vegan/Vegetarian Athlete’s Plate®: A Visual Guide Developed by the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs