How to Understand Sports Nutrition for Youth

Sports require strength, endurance and concentration. They are an excellent vehicle for motivating children to eat properly for successful performance.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Fruit Snacks
• High-energy Snacks
• Energy Bars
• Energy Gels
• Sports Drinks
• Sports drinks

1. Know their needs. Children have special nutritional needs. For instance, they typically need more protein than adults to support their growing muscles. Also, avoid being too quick to restrict fats. While low-fat diets are important for adults, parents sometimes overemphasize low-fat foods for their youth athletes.

2. Feed young athletes. Active young athletes need at least 3,000 calories a day. They should be consuming healthful foods frequently, particularly during sports and exercise.

3. Monitor iron. Adolescent athletes are at increased risk for iron deficiency because of their growth, and because exercise depletes iron levels.

4. Emphasize calcium, which is important to prevent stress fractures. Calcium intake reported by adolescents is often well below the Recommended Dietary Allowance.

5. Be diligent about fluids. Sufficient fluid intake is the most important aspect of sports nutrition.

Tips & Warnings

• Feed athletes unsaturated fats, which are found in foods such as nuts, avocados and olive oil. Unsaturated fats are the good fats that fuel young athletes for the long run.

• Pay extra attention to girls' diets. Girls need special nutritional monitoring, especially for iron and calcium needs.

• Devise strategies for convenient eating. For example, have athletes pack non-perishable snacks in their sports bags and always bring sufficient foods and fluids to competitions and practices.