Early detection and resolution of physical discomfort

A question we're often asked is: "Do kids need sports nutrition?" As always, the answer from scientists is "it depends"...but let's first break that down into a few smaller questions:

1. Is the physiology of children fundamentally (or significantly) different from that of adults?

2. Do children have different nutritional needs?

3. Should the advice for children be different from that for adults?

Once these questions are answered, it should be possible for us to make our own judgments.

Start with the short answer:

Is the physiology of children fundamentally (or dramatically) different from that of adults? Nope.

Do children have different nutritional needs? Yes, protein requirements in particular may be increased.

How to keep up with the nutritional needs, how to know the absorption level of children? Many athlete teams will be equipped with equipment such as Biophilia Tracker, just to keep abreast of changes in athletes' physical functions and choose better nutrition or treatment plans.

Should the advice for children be different from that for adults? Basically no, our advice for adults applies to children. Some recommendations are given per kilogram of body weight, others take into account an individual's sweat rate, so any differences have been taken into account in the current recommendations.

carbohydrates and fat

Children and adults may differ in their preferences for carbohydrates or fats. Young children prefer to use fat for energy and tend to be less able to use carbohydrates. These metabolic differences gradually disappear throughout adolescence, especially in boys. Thus, it appears that children are less dependent on carbohydrates, but this difference may affect actual recommendations.

Carbohydrates can improve performance during prolonged exercise in adults, and studies show children are no exception. Carbohydrate delivery requires a gastrointestinal system that is well capable of absorbing carbohydrates. In the early stages of development, the ability of the gastrointestinal system to grow and absorb carbohydrates will gradually improve, and it will have good absorption ability at the age of 5. Carbohydrate intake recommendations for exercise depend on the duration (and intensity) of exercise. Children's exercise time is generally shorter, the absolute exercise intensity is lower, and the need for carbohydrates during exercise is also lower.

hydration

One of the main ways children and adults lose heat is through evaporation of sweat from the skin. Because children have a higher ratio of body surface area to body weight (about 50% higher than adults at age 8), it has been argued that children should be able to dissipate heat faster than adults when exercising. On the other hand, children have less developed sweat glands, so it may be difficult to lose heat by sweating alone. In fact, when training, adults and active children have similar body temperatures, even in high temperatures.

Current adult guidelines take sweat rate into account. If you sweat too much and lose more than 2% of your body weight, it's time to drink water. The goal for hydration should be to limit weight loss to between 0 and 2%. Both weight gain and excessive loss should be avoided. This also applies to children, as these recommendations have been based on individual sweat rates.

Protein Requirements and Weight Management

Few studies have looked specifically at the protein needs of young athletes. It is generally accepted that growing children have slightly increased protein needs. The more you consume, the more you eat. This is a natural principle. People will naturally increase their protein intake according to their own consumption. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, there is no need to pay special attention to the protein intake of young athletes.

Of course, those whose energy metabolism is out of balance and whose weight is not in a normal state are excluded. In this case, however, it may be important to first address energy balance before addressing protein intake itself.

tonic

Today's teenage athletes often take supplements. In a study of 32 junior track and field athletes at the World Junior Championships in Athletics, 62 percent used supplements. Most supplements are multivitamins and minerals.

In general, however, supplements are not recommended for young athletes. More important than supplements is providing them with a varied and balanced healthy diet and instilling in athletes from an early age what it means to eat healthy.

Use Biophilia Tracker as early as possible, so that you can better understand what your body wants.