Some Nutrition Information For Young Athletes
Good nutrition is important for young athletes and is essential for health, performance, and normal growth.
Amanda Leonard, M.P.H., R.D., a pediatric sports nutritionist at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, recommends a young athlete’s diet should contain 20-30% calories from fat, 50-65% calories from carbohydrates, and 15-20% from protein. She also says that endurance training increases the amount of required carbohydrates and protein, and strength training increases the body’s need for protein.
Leonard says “I always remind parents: For children and teens the focus should be optimal health, not optimal performance. With optimal health, comes optimal performance. It really is that simple.”
She also mentions that young athletes typically do not require dietary supplements. A healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and maybe a multivitamin should provide excellent nutrition for an active young athlete.
Leonard warns that dehydration is common for children playing sports, especially during the summer; however, mild dehydration may go unnoticed. Younger children are more prone to dehydration because their bodies produce more heat and sweat less. For young athletes to stay hydrated, Leonard recommends water. Activities that last less than 60 minutes do not require electrolytes; therefore, electrolyte-enriched sports drinks are not necessary.
She gives the following tips to avoid dehydration:
- Before exercise, drink 4 to 8 ounces
- During activity, drink 4 ounces every 15 minutes
- After exercise, drink 16 to 24 ounces per every pound lost
Symptoms of dehydration include muscle cramps, dry mouth and severe thirst, reduced sweating and urination, headache and dizziness.
Another common problem among both girls and boys are eating disorders. This is especially true for those that compete in sports with weight categories (wrestling and rowing) or sports where appearance is emphasized (skating and gymnastics). Some signs of an eating disorder include obsessing about weight and appearance, drastic weight loss, and excessive exercise. Eating disorders can cause loss of periods in menstruating girls, osteoporosis, teeth erosion, delayed puberty and stunted growth.
I agree with most of what she recommends. I think the recommend percentage of protein is a little low and the carbohydrates high. However, as long as the all sources of food are nutritious and healthy, then this diet should be adequate for a young athlete’s needs. Just keeping your kids (and yourself) away from junk food is a great step.
Reference: Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
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Weekly Nutrition Tip #16
Tip #16
Don’t Displace, Dummy!
by Dr. John Berardi
There’s a big difference between a healthy diet to which treats are occasionally added and an ‘all-treat diet.’ In the former, unhealthy foods are consumed rarely and in addition to healthy foods. In the latter, unhealthy foods are consumed often and instead of healthy foods. This is called ‘food displacement’ and must be avoided if optimal body composition and health are your goals. Don’t displace nutrient dense food with empty calories!
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A Low-Fat Diet May Help Prevent Prostate Cancer
Research has shown that eating less polyunsaturated fat, which is typically found in baked and fried foods, helps prevent prostate cancer in mice.
The research was performed by the University of California, Los Angeles, and the scientists believe it to be the first of its kind in a mouse model that closely mimics human cancer.
The researchers found that mice that ate a low-fat diet (only 12% of calories from fat) had a 27% reduced rate of prostate cancer compared to mice who ate a more traditional Western-type diet (40% of calories from fat). They also found that precancerous prostate cells grew more slowly in the mice that ate the low-fat diet.
Senior author William Aronson, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher, stated that some of his previous studies have shown that a low-fat diet slowed the growth of aggressive human prostate cancer in mice and helped them live longer.
Aronson is planning a short-term study with men who will be assigned a diet high in polyunsaturated fat or a low-fat diet with fish oil supplements.
I think this just adds to a pile of evidence of just how bad the traditional American diet can be. I have posted before about how fried foods are linked to metabolic syndrome and how trans fat leads to coronary heart disease. I think it is important that the researchers are planning a follow-up study with fish oil supplements. Certain fats have been shown to provide health benefits, and I have posted before about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids (such as fish oil).
Reference: MedLine Plus
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Apple Or Pear - What Body Shape May Be Telling You
Where overweight people carry their extra weight – the waist or hips – can influence their risk of several disorders.
Research has shown that having an “apple-shaped” body, which means fat is mostly stored in the abdominal regions, increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, several types of cancer, and probably other disorders. A “pear-shaped” body, which means fat is mostly stored in the hips, butt, and thighs, is less risky, and may actually be protective in some ways, especially for women.
Several factors, particularly gender, influence where fat is distributed. Men store most of their excess fat in the midsection, but women tend to store it lower on the body. Although, women can be apple-shaped as well, particularly after menopause. Heredity and activity level also affect body shape.
Abdominal obesity increases the risk of having high LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar. This combination of problems in known as metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of several chronic diseases.
Furthermore, the fat stored in the midsection is mostly visceral fat, which means it is stored in and around the liver and other organs. Whereas, most of the fat in the hips and thighs is stored just under the skin, which is termed subcutaneous fat. The visceral fat in the abdominal area is more “metabolically active” than subcutaneous fat. These means that it releases substances – certain fatty acids, hormones, and inflammatory compounds – which are thought to account for some of the health problems. For example, chronic inflammation may increase cardiovascular risk.
Unfortunately, spot reduction (losing fat in just one area) is not possible. Therefore, doing excessive amounts of sit-ups and crunches will not cause you to lose fat faster in your midsection. In order to lose the abdominal fat, you have to lose fat throughout your entire body. Fortunately, those areas that accumulate fat faster than others also lose it faster.
A decent measure of your risk for the mentioned diseases and disorders is the waist-to-hip ratio. To determine this, measure your waist at the navel, and your hips at the greatest circumference around the buttocks. Then divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. A waist-to-hip ratio greater than 0.9 for men and 0.8 for women signifies an above-average risk. A ratio greater than 1.0 for men and 0.9 for women indicates a high risk. It is preferable for a man’s waist to be 10% smaller than his hips, and a women’s waist should be 20% smaller than her hips.
There has been a lot of research on this topic, and I think it is a fairly good assessment of risk. However, I think a qualified doctor should be consulted for anyone that is overweight or obese.
Reference: UC Berkeley Wellness Letter
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