Playing organised sport is a significant part of our childhood experiences. In fact 63% of Australian children aged 5 to 14 years play sport for an average of 6 hours per fortnight1. Add that to the countless hours of playground tiggy and homework and that’s a lot of energy being burned!
It’s important to help children have enough fluids and appropriate pre-exercise meals and snacks to help keep their growing body’s energy levels up and in the game – whatever their athletic endeavours.
Here are some tips which may make it easier to keep young tykes fuelled:
Avoid sports supplements
Young athletes may think they need to consume sports supplements to perform at their best like they see professional sports people endorsing. In reality, a well balanced diet rich in nutrients and good hydration is a much better choice.
Pre-game hydration is vital!
Children should be encouraged to stay properly hydrated before, during, and after active sports – and the best thirst quencher is still plain old water. Encourage children to drink plenty of water each day, especially on game days, so they don’t run the risk of being dehydrated.
Balanced diet
The ninemsn.com.au Health & Wellbeing Channel2 recommends children eat a variety of foods from each of the core food groups:
- Breads, cereals and other grain foods
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Milk (make sure it’s Pauls Zymil!)
- Meat, fish, poultry, eggs and legumes to ensure an adequate intake of all the essential nutrients.
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4901.0
2 Health & Wellbeing Channel:
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=689799
