Curious Parents Family Health Resources

kids & sports

Sports & Good Nutrition—It’s a Win-Win Situation
By Dawn Clausing, RD, CDN

Being active is a natural part of a child’s life—whether sacking the opposing team’s quarterback for the school football team, or just running around outside playing with friends in the street or park. As a parent, you take great joy in observing and encouraging these types of activities. And, if you’re like most parents, you’re out there not only cheering them on from the sidelines, but also providing guidance and helping them practice so they can improve their technique. That’s terrific, but it’s only one piece of the performance puzzle. Another key piece is proper nutrition—something that often gets overlooked.

A proper diet is necessary for people of all ages, as is emphasized in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which highlights the following key concepts:

• Make smart choices from every food group.

• Find your balance between food and physical activity.

• Get the most nutrition out of your calories.

These are significant strategies for everyday healthy eating and are indeed a solid basis when consistent, strong, athletic performance is also a goal. Let’s look closer.

Make Smart Choices from Every Food Group

The key is to structure meals and snacks that emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or lowfat milk and milk products like cheese and yogurt. Include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts, and foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars.

Find Your Balance Between Food & Physical Activity

Regular physical activity is important for overall health, but it also helps control body weight by balancing the calories eaten in a day with the ones used by being active. The DGA recommends that children and teenagers should be physically active for 60 minutes every day, or most every day. That said, “energy in” should equal “energy out.” The more active your kids are, the more calories they should be consuming to stay in balance.

Get the Most Nutrition Out of Your Calories

The goal is to choose the most nutritionally rich foods you can from each food group every day—those packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients but lower in calories.  Great choices are lowfat or fat-free milk and milk products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Avoid foods that are higher in fat and sugars and offer little nutritional value. 

If your child is in a serious competitive sports program, it likely would be beneficial to consult directly with a sports nutritionist who can develop an optimal meal/snack regimen and then monitor results. Regardless of the level of play, the following general nutrition information is useful if your child does play organized sports or is very physically active.

Hydration: Children have special fluid needs, and are typically at increased risk of dehydration during physical exertion. To avoid this, stress the importance of drinking enough fluids before, during and after games or any physical activity. Generally, about one cup of water or fluid is needed for every 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity. Waiting until thirst is noticed is too late.

What, chocolate milk can be a sports drink? Yes. It may seem untrue, but chocolate milk is an effective sports “recovery” drink due to its optimal carbohydrate to protein ratio—it not only helps re-fuel the body but also repairs stressed muscles. Plus, milk offers a host of other nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, phosphorous, vitamin A, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B-12, which are depleted through sweating.

Carbohydrates: This is the body’s preferred and primary energy source. Carbs are either simple or complex. Simple carbs are mostly various sugars or sugary foods or beverages that offer little else nutritionally. The exception to this is fruit. Fruits are considered simple carbs due to the natural sugars they contain; however, fruits are loaded nutritionally with many key vitamins and minerals along with phytochemicals that contribute to good health. Complex carbs are vegetables and whole-grain foods (such as breads, cereals and pastas) that contain a good deal of fiber and are not highly processed. Complex carbs and fruits are preferred choices.

Protein: Protein helps build and repair muscles. Most people get more than enough protein in their diets, and it would not be advised for children to consume excessive amounts for sports reasons. Normal consumption according to MyPyramid recommendations is sufficient. Sources are fish, lean meats and poultry, dairy products, soy products, beans, nuts and nut butters.

By following the simple guidelines highlighted above, you can easily make good nutrition part of your child’s sports/physical activity regimen—that’s a “win-win” for them and the team. Find more sports nutrition tips from The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports at www.fitness.gov/fastfacts.htm.   For calorie needs and food group breakdowns specific for your young athlete, visit www.mypyramid.gov.

Dawn Clausing is a freelance writer.