Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes

Abstract

Nutritional needs for peak athletic performance include sufficient calorie intake, adequate hydration, and attention to timing of meals. Student athletes and their advisors often are misinformed or have misconceptions about sports nutrition. This paper identifies nutritional needs of young athletes, reviews common misconceptions, and examines the nutrition knowledge of athletes and their sources of nutrition information. Topics covered include energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat and micronutrient needs, hydration requirements, timing of meals, and issues related to age, gender, and specific sports. Other issues addressed include "making weight" and ergogenic aids. Proper nutrition for young athletes is critical not only to their athletic success, but more importantly to their growth, development, and overall health. Nutritional recommendations should be based on the most current scientific data; we provide information about appropriate resources for the school nurse when advising student athletes and their coaches and parents.

Prevalência do uso e efeitos de recursos ergogênicos por praticantes de musculação nas academias brasileiras: uma revisão sistematizada

“…40,41 Além disso, como a proteína é a principal fonte de produção ácida endógena através da excreção de sulfato, essa produção aumentada pode influenciar negativamente a densidade mineral óssea, se não for balanceada com uma dieta adequada (frutas e vegetais). 42 Outra substância bastante utilizada pelos usuários de academia foi a creatina, cujo maior percentual encontrado foi de 89%. 4,15 Atualmente, a suplementação de creatina tem sido amplamente estudada, pesquisadores afirmam sua capacidade de aumentar a massa muscular 43,44 principalmente, o volume das fibras tipo II; aumentar a força 38 e a capacidade anaeróbica nos exercícios de alta intensidade.…”

Assessment of the Nutritional Behaviour Among College Students-a Survey

“…Awareness camps on nutrition and balanced diet will help the public to maintain a proper diet. On the other hand, some researchers have shown that most students are not familiar with healthy foods needed for their body in different conditions [9,10] and need to have nutrition education programs. The present study was conducted to understand the nutritional behaviour of the college students.…”

A Comparison of Nutritional Knowledge and Food Habits of Collegiate and Non-Collegiate Athletes

“…College athletes have misconception about nutrition, and have poor nutrition knowledge and attitude (Nancy, Connie, Vickery, & Mcbee, 2005;Schmalz, 1993). Also Studies show that athletes not knowledgeable enough about nutritional issues and their knowledge and attitude are in average level (Chang, 1987;Sakamaki et al, 2005).…”

“…Athletes may often rely on coaches for nutrition guidance in certain sports. Therefore, when coaches are misinformed about nutrition, this becomes a potential problem for athletes, as well (Cotugna, Vickery, & McBee, 2005). Nutrition training can be conveyed to the individuals through regular and wide educational programs as well as the individual training himself on his own settings (Yılmaz & Özkan, 2007).…”