Nutrition of small athletes

The epidemic of childhood obesity is starting now in smaller and younger kids. The role of parents and carers is to stop this dangerous process and protect the baby from being overweight and all the diseases.
Certain environmental factors have a decisive effect on weight gain. Today’s lifestyles have changed, and television viewing and computer-based fun is substituting the interaction with their peers and, therefore, greater movement during the day. When I was a kid the biggest joy was having fun with my friends and colleagues in the open air. I came back home very reluctantly and only after the next call from my mummy. Remember those times 🙂

Today, the child comes back from school and sits in front of a computer and sometimes you have to push the child to gou outside. This is all conducive to limiting active life, and is a major factor for overweight and obesity.

You can help your child by implementing certain rules:

• Eat breakfast
• Eat meals at regular times
• Limit consumption of sweet drinks and replace them with water
• Prepare healthy and nutritious meals and lunch boxes
• Avoid combining proteins and carbohydrates in a meal
• Eat a large amount of vegetables (75% of daily diet) and fruit in the diet (I know, I know it is not easy to persuade a child to eat “green”;)
• Celebrating family meals
• Introduce healthy fats, avoiding trans fats
• Reduced portion – better often and less.
• Reduce calories
• Get your child familiar with calorie counting and meal planning
• Use as many fresh and low-processed products as possible
• Avoid fast food
• physical activity!

Especially the last point of the above list –  physical activity plays a very important role in the correct development of the child. Initially, a child is involved in small homework, walking with a dog, or playing with parents, siblings and peers. In the following years  child starts attending school and is involved in physical activity, which unfortunately is often forced. However, if you will get your child to like and enjoy sport, the PE lessons will not be compulsory, and over time will additionally introduce  favorite sports activity.

The task of the family is to stimulate the child to greater physical activity and to plan individual and group activities such as joint walks or swimming.

I recommend encouraging your child to exercise regularly.

Almost every kid has his idol, often from the sports world. He admires the success and persistence of such athletes as Adam Malysz, Marcin Gortat, and Robert Lewandowski 🙂 There is often a dream of winning a gold medal or scoring legendary goals.

Every athlete, small and large, must take special care of the diet in order to have a healthy and strong body that is his or her work tool. A diet low in nutrients can result in a weakened body and a lack of results in sport. The right amount of energy helps to prevent loss of strength, speed, concentration and injury. It is very important to have a good rest and sleep, at least 8 hours a day.

This will allow the child to properly regenerate.

Based on the knowledge gained over the years, the opinion of the authorities, and finally my own experience, I have designed diets for athletes who generally rely on the general principles of healthy nutrition, and depending on the history of diseases, body weight or the type of discipline I have selected the appropriate calorie supply or products. The rules for feeding young and adult athletes are essentially the same. However, it is important to remember the additional needs of the growing body for particular ingredients and its proper hydration. In magazie “Practical Medicine. Pediatrics “I found an article that is a great guide for parents, grandparents and carers of young athletes. This is a compendium of knowledge and a hint on how to improve nutrition to improve the results of a small champion:

Fatigue – no meal / drink before or during training; Iron / calorie deficiency. It is advisable to provide your child with a meal 30-60 minutes before activity and supplement the fluids during it. Caloricity should be adapted to the type of training.

Muscle cramps – too little or too much fluid and sodium deficiency to be replenished.

Proof of this is salty sweat and white  marks left on the clothes.

No weight gain – Protein intake only after strength training, too low calorie intake.

To fix it you should consume meals more often, especially those made with protein and carbohydrates before and after exercise.

No fat loss – can be due to several reasons. The most common are skipping meals, too many calories from drinks, or too hearty meal after workout. You should eat your meals at regular times, as well as the right proportion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and reduce the calorie content of beverages and snacks after a meal instead of a large meal.

FLUIDS

Often the reason for poor form is poor hydration. Young athletes are sweating during exercise and lose far more fluids than their peers, and therefore the need for fluids is greater for about 0.5 to 1 liter. Sometimes children go for sodas, sweetened tea or fruit drinks that provide too much energy. A child may be forbidden to drink  during lessons or not to use the toilet. Let’s pay attention to what and in which quantities our young athletes are drinking.

How should it look like ?:

4-8 years – 5 glasses (1.2 l) per day

9-13 years – boys 8 glasses (1.8 l), girls 7 glasses (1.6 l)

14 – 18 years old – boys 11 glasses (2.6 l), girls 8 glasses (1.8 l)

It is important to follow some simple guidelines that can show body dehydration. The first is the weight control before and after the activity. If the weight indicates a loss of more than 1% of the initial weight, it means you should drink more. Other symptoms include dark urine and increased thirst. To avoid dehydration drink the following fluids:

2 hours before the exercise – about 500-700 ml

0.5 hours before exercise – 350 – 450 ml

Every 20 minutes during exercise – 150 – 250 ml

After exercise – 450 – 700 ml for every 0.5 kg of lost weight

Small athletes should reach for fluids immediately after waking, also during each meal, as well as before, during and after the competition. It is worth remembering that during physical activity, which lasts less than an hour, it is enough to drink water. However, if training is scheduled for longer, then special drinks for athletes will be helpful. Remember that the proper hydration support is liquid meals such as soups, apple mousse, cocktails and yogurts

SODIUM

Along with the sweat  athlete loses sodium, so it is important to regularly supplement this element. Very often parents use a diet low in salt, but it is worthwhile to make some modifications if the child’s sweat is very salty and we notice white marks on the clothes.

Standard daily sodium requirement:

4-8 years – 1200-1900 mg

9-13 years – 1500-2200 mg

14-18 years – 1500 – 2300 mg

If your little athlete has salty sweat it is worth adding up the sodium in different ways:

Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to about 0.6 liter sports drinks
Consumption of pickled products (eg cucumbers) of rye salty snacks
Cooking rice or pasta in broth / broth
Adding salt to meals
Drinking vegetable or tomato juice

CALORIES

It is very important to have a caloric intake in the athlete’s diet. Pay special attention to the discipline of the sport the child is cultivating and should therefore be in the shape of the child. Another guideline is age, metabolism and the time of food intake.

4-8 years – 1400 – 1600 kcal

9-13 years – boys 1800-2200 kcal, girls 1600-2200 kcal

14-18 years – boys 2200 – 2600 kcal, girls 2000 kcal

CARBS

They are extremely important in the athlete’s diet because it is the primary source of energy. The minimum intake for satisfying the basic functions of the body within 24 hours is 180 g. For sports activity, the demand for carbohydrates is increasing. Gluconaogenesis from non-carbohydrate sources provides 130 g of carbohydrates during the day and the rest should be eaten with food, so a young athlete should consume 200-500g of carbohydrates a day. It is best to get them from fruits, vegetables, cereal products, potatoes and corn.

Demand for carbohydrates according to intensity of exercise:

3.3-5.5 g / kg – with less intensive training (2-3 times a week)
5.5-8.8 g / kg – moderate training (3-5 times a week)
8.8-9.9 g / kg – energy “charge”  before the competition
1.8 g / kg – energy supplement after the competition.

PROTEIN

Protein is responsible for the condition of muscles and bones and should therefore account for 12-15% of daily calorie requirements. You should eat enough to prevent any deficiency. Protein is also very helpful in regulating body weight.

Daily protein requirement

4-8 years – 19 g

9-13 years – 34 g

14-18 years – boys 52 g, girls 6 g

Recommended amounts of protein depending on the type of activity:

Average workout: about 1.1-1.5 g / kg
Strength sports: about 1.1-1.8 g / kg
Calorie restriction players: about 1.8-2 g / kg
Maximum amount of protein that the body can use: 2-2.2 g / kg

Athletes who do not consume animal protein should take the right amount of vegetable protein to balance the deficiencies. It should come from food, not from supplementation. However, if we decide to do so, we choose isolates, such as whey protein, rather than complex protein supplements. However, they are meant to supplement a meal and not replace it.

FATS

The higher the rate of oxidation in children, the fats are a good source of energy and good if they cover 25-30% of the daily calorie requirement. I warn against choosing a nonfat diet because they are often poor in nutrients and in fact provide the same amount of energy as their full fat counterparts. I recommend skimmed meat, but butter products or mayonnaise would be full fat. It is important to avoid a heavy workout after a hearty meal.

SUPPLEMENTS
Properly composing a diet rich in all the essential nutrients is not the easiest and often it is worth to use the help of supplements. They provide the right amount of minerals and vitamins. As with protein supplements, they should only be a meal supplement and not a substitute, and should be used for a certain period of time, such as preparing for a competition, rather than permanently. Nutritional ingredients should be complemented by proper nutrition.

Daily requirement for some supplements:

Vitamin D – min. 400 IU

B vitamins and antioxidants: Vitamin C, E, b-carotene

Calcium – 1300 mg

Iron – 9-13 years: 8 mg, 14-18 years: boys 11 mg, girls 15 mg. 1000 calories should contain 1000 calories.

Zinc – 5-11 mg

Magnesium – 130-410 mg

Athlete’s weight is an important factor in the performance of the athlete. Do not try to reduce weight at a fast pace, because it is often only a loss of water, not fat. Similarly, training can not begin without previous energy and fluid replenishment, as it helps to increase endurance, speed, strength and reduce the risk of injury. After exercise, you should eat a meal after about 30 minutes, but no longer because it can delay muscle regeneration.

It is very important to consult a specialist such as a dietician who will give you tips on how to compose meals, especially if your baby has a specific plan like losing fat or gaining muscle mass.

Source:

Wykład szkoleniowy Forum Media Polska “Odżywianie dzieci i młodzieży – by rosły zdrowo”.

„Medycyna praktyczna. Pediatria”