Main description:

A healthy diet can help the young sports stars of tomorrow fulfil their potential.

Around 85% of children regularly take part in sports activities outside lessons. Swimming is the most common activity for girls, with football for boys. 43% of children spend between 1-5 hours per week doing sport outside lessons (Sport England).

But as any parent or coach knows, it's hard to get the right balance, especially if you're running between school and training sessions. Children don't always eat, or want to eat, the very foods that will help them compete at the highest level - the snacks and meals that will give them energy, help them keep going through a long training session, or recover afterwards. Throw into the mix the need to keep hydrated and lots of children are training and competing below par.

Carefully researched and satisfying the real need for a nutrition book specifically for young athletes, Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes offers clear advice to sports coaches, teachers and parents of young
people wanting to maximise their sports performance through eating healthily and sensibly.
Find out about specific nutritional requirements for different sports - from running to swimming, gym to dance, racquet sports to football and rugby. Learn more about tricky weight issues, myths about body composition and the warning signs for eating disorders.

This is a above all a practical book - written and road tested by bestselling nutrition author Anita Bean, and packed with nutritional tips, eating plans for training and competition, and easy, delicious and nutritious recipes and snacks to give your young sportsperson the competitive edge.

Contents:

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

1 The nutritional needs of young athletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How much energy do young athletes need? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
What are the best fuels for exercise? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
How much carbohydrate should young athletes eat each day?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
How much protein do young athletes need? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
How important is fat for young athletes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
What do vitamins and minerals do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Salt and athletic performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
How to plan a healthy diet for young athletes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

2 Eating for sport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Before training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
During training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
After training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Menu plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

3 Weight and sports performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Is there a link between a young athlete's weight, body fat percentage and performance? . . .65
Should overweight young athletes be encouraged to lose weight? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
How can I evaluate a young athlete's weight? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
How can I measure body fat percentage in young athletes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
What are the next steps? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
What's a healthy weight loss strategy for young athletes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Top tips for maintaining a healthy weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Can young athletes be too thin? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
What are eating disorders? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
What causes eating disorders in young athletes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
How should I help a young athlete with an eating disorder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Weight gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

4 Nutritional supplements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Caffeine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Creatine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Energy bars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Energy gels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Meal replacements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Vitamin and mineral supplements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Protein supplements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Sports drinks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Energy drinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Omega-3 supplements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
5 Eating for competition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
The week before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
The day before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Competition day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Tournaments and multiple events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
6 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Main meals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Vegetarian main meals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Soup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Desserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Baking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Useful websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149