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Common Nutrient
Deficiencies
The nutrients in which young athletes are
most often deficient are carbohydrates,
calcium, vitamin B(,, folate and iron (Kern
2006; Thompson 1998).
A deficiency in carbohydrates leads to
inadequate glycogen stores and premature fatigue, both of which compromise
performance and force the body to rely
on an alternative source of fuel. Glucose
is essential to body functioning during
Fluids
Maintaining the proper fluid balance is
critical for this population. In addition to
the risk of causing a heat-related illness,
dehydration can lead to fatigue during exercise. Alteredfiuidstatus can be a bigger
risk for kids than for adult athletes for two
reasons; (1) children experience greater
heat stress and heat accumulation during
exercise; and (2) children have a greater
ratio of surface area to body mass and absorb heat more readily than do adults
(Petrie, Stover & Horswill 2004).
Signs of dehydration in children include, but are not limited to, the following:
dark urine
small volume of urine
Adequate Intakes of
muscle cramps
reduced sweating
Commonly Deficient Micronutrients
increased heart rate
The following recommendations for children and adolescents are in accordance with those
headaches
set by the Institute of Medicine National Academies Food and Nutrition Board (2004):
nausea
Child and adolescent athletes should
Calcium
Foiate
Vitamin Bg
iron
replenish
lost hydration stores during
(Al)
(DRI)
(DRI)
DRI
UL
and after a competition or a heavy
workout. Weighing an athlete before and
all children 4-8 years
800 mg/d 200 mcg/d
a.6mg/d
10 mg/d 40 mg/d
after an exercise bout allows you to
gauge how much fluid needs replacing;
males 9-13 years
1,300 nfig/d 300 mcg/d
1 mg/d
8mQ/d 40 mg/d
the general rule of thumb is 16-24
ounces of liquid for every pound lost
femaies9-13years
1,300 mg/d 300 mcg/d
1 mg/d
(Nevin-Folino 2003). Be aware that chil8 mg/d 40 mg/d
dren do not instinctively drink enough
fiuids to replace lost stores, and thirst
males 14-18 years
1,300 mg/d 400 mcg/d 1.3 mg/d
11 mg/d 45 mg/d
does not always indicate when the body
needs more fluids.
females 14-18 years 1,300 mg/d 400 mcg/d 1.2 mg/d
15 mg/d 45 mg/d
During activities lasting less than 60
AL Adequate intake; DRI: Dietary Reference Intake; UL: Upper Limit; mg/d: milligrams per minutes, water is all that is needed to hyday; mcg/d: micrograms per day.
drate young athletes. However, during
66
Athletes need to consume sufficient calories each day to maintain protein balance.
A word of caution: consuming an overabundance of protein can lead to dehydration, weight gain and calcium loss. It is
critical that young athletes monitor their
daily protein intake, because this population is already at risk for calcium deficiency.
Carbohydrates
Since carbohydrates are the preferred
fuel for athletic performance, approximately 55% of a young athlete's total
daily calories should come from carbohydrate (Nevin-Folino 2003). Carbohydrate needs are based on body weight
and intensity of activity. The American
Dietetic Association (ADA) has set the
following daily recommendations for
young athletes (Nevin-Folino 2003):
3-5 grams (g) carbohydrates per kilogram (carb/kg) for very light intensity
training
5-8 g carb/kg for moderate or heavy
training
8-9 g carb/kg for pre-event loading
(24-48 hours prior)
1.7 g carb/kg for postevent refueling
(within 2-3 hours)
Protein
An essential part of a young athlete's diet,
protein is responsible for building, maintaining and repairing muscle and other
body tissue (Nevin-Folino 2003). It should
be noted that inadequate caloric intake will
cause a protein imbalance even if the athlete consumes the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein (Thompson
1998). Young athletes need to consume
enough calories each day to maintain body
weight and keep protein stores in balance.
While it has been suggested that adult
athletes may need more protein per
pound of body weight than adults who
are not athletes, additional protein needs
have not been specifically evaluated for
younger athletes. However, the ADA has
issued the following daily recommendations (Nevin-Folino 2003):
Athletes who have just begun a training program require 1.0-1.5 g/kg
of protein.
Athletes who participate in endurance
sports require 1.2-1.4 g/kg.
Vegetarian and vegan athletes should
be counseled to ensure that adequate
intake or protein is consumed from
plant sources.
Fat
Fat is an essential fuel for young athletes
who engage in light- to moderate-intensit)'
exercise or in endurance events. Although
carbohydrates are the preferred fuel for
adult athletes, healthy fats may be a better
choice for children who engage in sports
(Montfort-Steiger & Williams 2007). This
could be due to the higher rate at which fat
oxidizes in the young body; the faster the
fat is broken down, the quicker it can be
used as fuel for exercise (Montfort-Steiger
8c Williams 2007). Keep in mind, however,
that kids who compete are usually trying
to build muscle mass and may not want to
add any fat to their diet. Teach them that
healthy fats are a far better choice than butter, animal fat or lard.
Below are some easy-to-follow guidelines for young athletes on daily consumption of fats:
It is important that young athletes obtain an average of 20%-30% of their
calories from fat; clients can achieve
this even with low-fat foods {but not
nonfat) (Nevin-Folino 2003).
Young athletes should aim to significantly lower the amount of saturated
and trans fat in their diet.
The best choices for young athletes are
healthy fats from plant oils (e.g.,
canola or olive oil); these clients
should limit their intake of unheahhy
saturated fats found in fried and
processed foods.
References
Croli. I,K,, et a!. 2006. Adolescents involved in weightrelated and power team sports have better eating patterns and nutrient intakes than non-sjjort-involved
adolescents, lounial of the American Dielelic Associarioit. 106, 709-17.
Dunford, M. 2006. Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual
for Professionals (4th ed.). Sports Cardiovascular and
Wellness Nutritionists, Chicago: American Dietetic
Association.
I-ooii and Nutrition Board. 2002/2005. Dietary Reference
Intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids,
cholesterol, protein, amino acids. Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press, www.nap.edu; retrieved Dec, 31.2007,
Food and Nutrition Board. 2004, Dietary Reference Intakes
(DRls): Recommended iniakes for individuals, vitamins,
www,iom.edu/Objea,File/Master/2I/372/0,pdfi retrieved
Dec. 31,2007.
Kern, M. 2006. Dietary intake of adolescent athletes
and nonathletes. journal of the Americiiii Dietetic
Assodation, 106,717-19.
Montfort-Steiger. V,, & Williams, C.A, 2007, Carbohydrate
intake considerations for young athletes, /(iiirnfl/ of
Sports Science and Medicine. 6, 343-52.
Nevin-Folino, N. 2003. Pediatric Manual of Clinical
Dietetics (2nd ed.). The Pediatric Nutrition Practice
Group. Chicago: American Dietetic Association.
Petrie, H.I., Stover, E.A., & Horswill, C.A. 2004.
Nutritional concerns for the child and adolescent
competitor. Nutrition, 20, 620-31.
Thompson, (.L. 1998. Energy balance in young athletes.
International journal of Sport Nutrition, 8160-74.
Thompson, ] & Manore, M. 2006, Nutrition: An Applied
Approach. My Pyramid Edition. San Francisco:
Benjamin Cummings,