I’m frequently asked about proper nutrition for young athletes. After nearly 15 years of learning, working with clients, and studying research of some of the most brilliant minds in the field of nutrition, I believe that most of us in general don’t consume enough protein. Youth athletes in particular may not consuming enough calories and suffering from low energy availability.

From my personal observations—whether it’s at schools or on my daughters’ volleyball teams—many kids’ diets are primarily composed of processed foods. Their diet often consist of a lot of pasta, pizza, bread, sugary drinks, sodas, sweets, and baked goods.

Instead, I recommend incorporating whole, unprocessed foods. Options like rice (white rice is easier to digest than brown or black rice, but it has less nutrients), yams, purple and sweet potatoes, and even white potatoes are all excellent choices. Fresh, organic sourdough bread is another good option. Additionally, salads, seasonal vegetables, protein (whether plant-based or from eggs, fish, meat, chicken, or turkey), and seasonal fruit are essential. Hydration is also key—plenty of filtered water is a must. Some dark chocolate and nuts are good for snacking, and desserts like ice cream, sweets or cake should be reserved for weekends or special occasions.

Another important issue to consider is calorie intake. We are talking about athletes, kids who train, practice, and workout in one way or another 5-6 days a week. Not only may young athletes be consuming most of their calories from foods that lack nutrients, but they also might not be eating enough calories overall.

Dr. Sims, a leading expert in sports nutrition, highlights this in one of her articles (see below). She explains that the growing bodies of adolescent athletes require more calories than those of adult athletes to avoid low energy availability.

Both of my daughters train hard as volleyball players, practicing, playing, and/or lifting six days a week, depending on the season. My primary focus for them is ensuring they get enough healthy nutritious food and especially protein. While they eat nutrient-dense foods about 80% of the time, to perform and recover at a high level, they need adequate protein intake to support recovery, repair, and muscle growth. Dr. Sims, who follows a vegan diet, is a great example of someone who successfully meets her protein needs from plant-based sources, though it does require some extra planning.

How different should a teenage athlete’s nutrition be compared to an adult’s?

The biggest difference to point out here is that an adult has finished growing, whereas the adolescent athlete is in a unique situation. They must meet the nutritional requirement associated with undertaking daily training and competition while ensuring they have a diet that caters to the added demands of their growth and development (in particular, bone mineral density, endocrine function, and brain development). Energy needs are unique to each individual and should be set out specifically, but the best way to go about managing the increased demand for calories is to moderate intake in and around structured training. Be careful here, though, as teenagers often underestimate their calorie/fueling needs. Chasing a lower body composition is often a driving factor (for both teenagers and adults), but for teenagers, fueling for training and performance outcomes is more important than monitoring body composition. Hear me out: With puberty, there are waves of changes in muscle, bone, and body fat development, and these change more rapidly in teenagers than adults. One major concern, especially for female athletes, is falling into low energy availability and the loss of periods. This is not normal (despite the perpetual myth that not having your period is a sign of hard training and is OK: it’s not!). If we bring it all back to basics, if we match teenager to adult in terms of training load, sex, muscle mass, and height, the teenager will need ~1000 extra calories compared to the adult. This should be filled with nutrient-dense, real food – not low density, high sugar sports foods.

• STACY T. SIMS, MSC, PHD https://www.triathlete.com/nutrition/ask-stacy-wholesome-meals/

To your health,

Elena