The 5 demands of a Junior Athlete are often overlooked in favour of cardio and, or strength training. Here, we briefly outline the Nutritional Demands of a Junior Athlete ending with what Junior Athletes need to know and understand to enhance their ability and training. In sport settings, Junior Athletes often have easy access to high energy and low nutrient snacks and drinks, such as chocolate bars, cookies, crisps, protein bars, sports or energy drinks, and fizzy drinks (Naylor, Olstad, & Therrien, 2015).
These poor nutritional options may be due to sports clubs’ relationship with marketing companies likely encouraging these foods to promote sporting performance (Wilde, 2009). Another issue is the lack of self-knowledge in Junior Athletes regarding nutritional status, which, in some cases, drives the use of supplements without adequate knowledge to enhance sporting performance (McDowall, 2007). Without nutritional knowledge, parents and Junior athletes may succumb to marketing ploys, purchasing unnecessary vitamin and mineral supplementation. A varied, balanced diet consisting of fruit, vegetables and dairy products can provide sufficient vitamins and minerals for a developing athlete (Tardy et al., 2020). The World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture of the United Nations recommend at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day (Dhandevi & Jeewon, 2015). This is the foundation of the advice in the UK (NHS, 2018).
In my experience of working with Junior and Adolescent athletes, the challenges have been the before and after of training or matches. Young players usually get lifts to and from the match/training, which often means they eat within their environment. This often means trips to the service stations or local convenience stores, which can be tricky when choosing the best food options to fuel appropriately for the performance ahead. The most common purchases were nearly always a Lucozade and sausage roll, which is certainly not the worst. Yes, it is likely to be unbalanced, but importantly, this would be nowhere near enough to fuel the body for a game or training session.
Adequate nutrition in junior athletes is essential to facilitate growth and development through adolescence and promotes improved athletic performance (Bonci, 2010; Purcell, 2013). Optimal nutrition in young athletes requires an adequate intake of carbohydrates (45% to 65%), protein (10% to 30%) and fats (25% to 30%) (Purcell, 2013). Optimal nutrition improves Junior athletes performance by reducing fatigue and risk of injury, facilitating effective training and recovery (Hoch, Goossen & Kretshmer, 2008).
Juniors competing recreationally and competitively frequently have dietary intakes that are unbalanced (Spronk, Kullen, Burdon & O’Connor, 2014). An unbalanced diet in junior athletes extends beyond the overall energy intake and is highlighted in the diet’s lack of nutritionally dense food (Calella et al., 2017). In sport settings, junior athletes often have easy access to high energy and low nutrient snacks and drinks, such as chocolate bars, cookies, crisps, protein bars, sports or energy drinks, and fizzy drinks (Naylor, Olstad, & Therrien, 2015).
Nutritional education is essential to promote positive behaviour change and thus improve adolescent soccer players’ eating habits (Noronha et al., 2020). Without nutrition education, athletes are often misinformed and have misconceptions leading to poor dietary choices (Noronha et al., 2020; Heaney et al., 2011). Teenagers have been reported to have lower NK than adults due to a lack of interest in nutrition (Argôlo et al., 2018).
Alongside adequate energy, sufficient micronutrients are also critical not only for growth but sexual maturation and to protect from common teenage diseases (Olmedilla & Granado, 2000). Juniors with suboptimal nutrition often have micronutrient deficiency, with female adolescents typically having a higher risk of iron deficiencies (Christian & Smith, 2018). Micronutrients are commonly mistaken for providing energy, and it is important to educate junior athletes that energy can only be provided by macronutrients (Tardy et al., 2020).
The recommendations of fruit and vegetables are rarely met in JAs (Caccialanza, Cameletti, & Cavallaro, 2007; Argôlo et al., 2018) and adult athletes (Orzel, & Bronkowska, 2018). The explanation for inadequate micronutrient intake is insufficient intake of nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and high intake of processed foods (Clark, Reed, Crouse & Armstrong, 2003). An indication of inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption is low fibre intake which is common in young, high-level young international footballers (15-17- year olds) (Leclercq, Piccinelli, Arcella, & Le-Donne, 2004).
Junior athletes should understand energy balance, food timings, food and fluid intake during training or matches, and nutrition for recovery (Purcell, 2013). Without such knowledge, profound consequences can occur in JAs, such as an energy deficit, leading to a loss of muscle mass, slower recovery, delayed puberty, illness, or injury (American College of Sports Medicine, & American Dietetic Association, 2000). In comparison, excess energy can lead to a JA being overweight or de-conditioned and struggling to meet the sporting demands (Purcell, 2013).
IMG: Dan Gold, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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My philosophy of nutrition is to keep it simple and eat with an approach of food first, not food only, allowing you to be on a non-restrictive diet.
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