(Reprinted with permission of Gatorade Sports Science Institute)Todays active youngster is busier than ever at a time when more families have either two parents working outside the home or have a single parent at home. The schedule of the young athlete many times includes more than one sport per season as well as other activities. This leaves little time in the day for these athletes to get adequate fluids or calories for a pregame meal. Kids who are in school all day and then practice sports after school often hit the playing field hungry and dehydrated. Also, because parents are so busy, many young athletes are on their own to fix breakfast and lunch. Furthermore, in gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and other sports where aesthetics are judged, many young athletes restrict their intakes of foods and fluids in hope of improving their scores in competition. This is another roadblock to the nutrition of the young athlete.
Here are some tips for parents that can help ensure that their young athletes eat and drink appropriately.
GET THE LATEST INFORMATION ON SPORTS NUTRITION
· Seek out information in the nutrition section of your local library.
· Visit the website of the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Information (www.usda.gov/cnpp/) for a detailed description of recommended dietary guidelines, especially the “Food Guide Pyramid.”
· Visit the website of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (www.gssiweb.com) for recent information on all aspects of sports nutrition, hydration, and other aspects of exercise science.
· Find a registered dietician or other nutrition-education professional at a local university, hospital, or other community agency who will agree to give a nutrition presentation at a meeting of team parents and athletes before the competitive season begins.
USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO IMPROVE THE NUTRITION AND HYDRATION OF YOUNG ATHLETES
· Become a role model of good nutrition and hydration for your children.
· Do your best to ensure that your children eat nutritious meals that follow the USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid as closely as possible.
- Serve healthful meals.
- Help your children choose healthful breakfast and lunchbox foods and drinks.
- Find out what your children are eating and drinking at the school cafeteria, and reinforce the need to make wise choices.
· Make sure the learn has large insulated containers to keep sports drinks cool.
· Provide your children with individual drinking cups of bottles and remind them regularly to drink even when they are not thirsty.
· Especially during hot weather, monitor your young athlete’s body weight daily to make sure that weight is not lost through dehydration. Insist that your child drink enough to maintain a stable body weight.
· Urge coaches to emphasize good nutrition and hydration to their players.
· Organize groups of parent volunteers to pack a team cooler with nutritious foods and beverages for road trips and for team snacks at practices and games.
· Download and make copies of user-friendly materials on sports nutrition from the Gatorade Sports Science C Exchange website (www.gssiweb.com) and give them to coaches for distribution to their athletes at practice.
· Don’t allow your children to lose excessive body weight in hopes of achieving a lower weight class in a sport such as wrestling or getting higher marks from judges in gymnastics or figure skating.