NUTRITION

NUTRITION FOR THE SERIOUS YOUNG ATHLETE –

THE PRACTICAL APPROACH

by Jane Griffin BSc RD RNutr

Children and adolescents have dietary requirements that are different from adults and those involved in sport at a competitive level are set apart even from other youngsters when considering the practical aspects of their diet. Underlying principles of the diet remain the same but lifestyle and the demands of training together with the requirements of the sport itself will necessitate some dietary modifications. A variety of different methods of collecting dietary data can be used to evaluate existing diets and eating patterns. Similarly the way that practical, workable advice can be given based on the data collected will vary depending on a number of factors including frequency of contact time, how much contact time is face-to-face and particular living situations such as living at home, boarding school, attending local college or away at university. Lifestyle issues can also hinder the development of the right diet, particularly if time management skills are poorly developed. However young athletes may encounter problems which they have no control over, such as inappropriate school meals, excessive travel time to training sessions straight after school and financial constraints on the amount that can be spent on extra food.

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ENERGY REQUIREMENTS Childhood and adolescence are times of rapid growth and development with parallel increases in nutritional require- ments. Because of the demands of growth, children require a higher energy intake than adults at comparable weights. Absolute energy needs for growth are higher during adolescence than in childhood years (see Box 1).

Added to the estimate average requirements (EAR) for energy will be the extra energy cost of exercise in serious young athletes. A simple method of calcu- lating total daily energy requirements is based on the Physical Activity Level (PAL) (1) where an assumption of the energy demands at school/college and during the rest of the day is made and using the basal metabolic rate (BMR) estimated average energy requirements can be calculated. A higher PAL value indicates a higher physi- cal activity level (see Boxes 2 and 3).

Poor energy intakes that do not match

requirements over a significant period of time can result in growth retardation, delayed puberty, poor bone health and increased incidence of injuries – and of course poor performance in training and competition or matches.

ADEQUATE FUEL Carbohydrate and fat are both used as fuel sources but during prolonged exercise there is a preference for fat metabolism in children and a shift towards a preference for carbohydrate in adolescents. To sustain training over a number of months, children still depend on adequate carbohydrate stores to be present. There is certainly no evidence that fat intake should be more than 30% of total energy intake in children or adolescents. All serious young athletes need to be encour- aged to refuel with suitable carbohydrate rich foods and fluids after all training sessions and competitions or matches. Poor eating habits such as regularly missing breakfast, frequent, inappropriate snacking (as opposed to refuelling) and

BOX 1: ESTIMATED AVERAGE REQUIREMENTS (EARS) FOR ENERGY (KCAL/D) (1) Age in years 7-10

11-14 15-18 19-50

males 1970 2220 2755 2550

females 1740 1845 2110 1940

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