Understanding sports nutrition for children and adolescent athletes

With the aim to provide exposure related to sports and nutrition, especially to children and adolescent athletes, a webinar titled “Pemakanan dan Sukan” was organised in collaboration with the Johor Cricket Council (JCC) during the e-KLESF 2021 on 30 October 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live.

Invited to be the speaker was HealthifyME Dietitian Nur Syahirah binti Shah Budin.

From left: Nur Syahirah and UTAR Centre for Corporate and Community Development Assistant Manager Kaarthic Muthukutty Chozhan (moderator)

“Sports nutrition is a field of study that applies nutritional strategies to promote healthy training to gain optimal performance in sports,” said Nur Syahirah. She then explained the importance of sports nutrition.

Nur Syahirah

“Sports is beneficial to children and adolescence because it will help them to increase their stamina, build healthy bones and muscles, control their weight, reduce stress, increase their self –confidence and control their blood pressure and cholesterol levels,” said Nur Syahirah.

Understanding the BMI

The right diet for adolescent athletes

Recommended energy requirements for children and adolescent

According to Nur Syahirah, if one has deficit in calories, they may encounter problems like stunted growth, late puberty, menstrual cycle disorders and weak muscles. They may also gain injuries due to fatigue and easily fall sick. However, if one consumes too many calories, they may face overweight or obesity issues.

Recommended nutrition intake and its sources

Tips to drink water

As Nur Syahirah explained sports supplement, she said, “It is not recommended for anyone aged 18 and below to consume sports supplement as it would not make them more agile, strong or improve their skills.  Moreover, sports supplement has not been tested on adolescents or children, so there is no evidence to show that it is safe for them to consume. Most important is to get their nutrition right through their food consumption.” She then shared the recommended food intake for adolescents and children before and after a sports event.

Tips to choose their pre-event meal

What should one eat after their exercise?

She concluded, “A balanced diet is important for growing athletes to maintain good growth and optimise their athletic performance.  An ideal diet consists of forty-five to sixty per cent of carbohydrates, ten to thirty per cent of protein and twenty-five to thirty-five per cent of fat. Water is essential for maintaining hydration and should be drunk before, during and after a sports event to avoid being dehydrated. Eat at least three hours before a sports event and have a snack one to two hours before the event.  Nutritious food should be taken within thirty minutes after the event and then one to two hours after the event to ensure proper recovery of their muscles.”

A group photo session to end the webinar

Click here to watch the full webinar.