The Secret Weapon in Kids' Sports

As a mother of a serious baseball player from tee-ball through college, I spent more time (and money) focusing on getting him pitching and hitting lessons off the field to help his on-field performance than I did on what he was eating prior to the game. I may have struck out on this one.

According to Jill Castle, a registered dietitian nutritionist, mother of four athletic children and author of "Eat Like a Champion," "a growing, athletic child's nutrient needs are different than a mature adult's. Coaches and parents often overlook the importance of good nutrition for youth sports, so these athletes do not eat to compete. Rather, they are slowed down by poor diets, inadequate calories and wrong foods, which can affect their performance and long-term health."

While there are tons of research-based nutrition resources for adult athletes, the adolescent athletic market is very sparse, as the research is just beginning to occur. This is mind boggling when you consider that there more than 35 million 7- to 17-year-old kids who play recreational and/or organized sports, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.

Castle wrote her book to not only help parents and coaches adequately feed their growing athletes, but also because the emerging research conducted with young athletes is alarming. A study of competitive adolescent swimmers uncovered that, on average, the youth fell short on bone-strengthening calcium and vitamin D during this critical, bone-building time. Another study of female youth soccer athletes did no better in meeting their daily needs of these two nutrients, and many also fell short of their dietary carbohydrate needs. Carbohydrates are the key fuel needed during athletic competitions, and these are found in abundance in grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy foods.

One of the biggest myths in youth sports, according to Castle, is that parents think they don't have to worry about the child's weight if he or she is active. This isn't true. Research looking at the diets of youth sports participants revealed that these kids were chowing down more fast foods and sugary beverages than those who didn't participate in sports. Just take a peek inside a concession stand, and you'll see you don't even have to leave the sporting event to find these less nutritious foods. The kids are eating them as post-recovery foods on the way home in the minivan.

Unfortunately, the latest research suggests kids who frequently eat fast foods and drink sweetened beverages are at a higher risk of becoming obese. Since eating habits are developed early in life, when the organized sporting activities end, the weight may begin to pile on, if the calories aren't also reduced in the diet to offset the inactivity. An overweight young adult is at a higher risk of becoming an obese adult as he or she ages.

If you have an athletic child, paying attention to good nutrition may be one of the best kept competitive secrets during this active growing period and beyond. For personalized advice, consider meeting with a sports dietitian who specializes in pediatrics. You can find one here at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Personally, I wish Castle's book was available decades ago. I would have read it during my son's pitching and hitting lessons.

Joan Salge Blake is a Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University and the author of "Nutrition &You," 3^nd Edition, Pearson/Benjamin Cummings (2014), "Nutrition & You: Core Concepts to Good Health," Pearson/Benjamin Cummings (2010), and "Eat Right The E.A.S.Y. Way," Prentice Hall Press (1991). She is the co-author of "Nutrition: From Science to You," Pearson/Benjamin Cummings (2016). Joan has conducted more than 1,000 media interviews and has been quoted in or written for various media outlets, such as the New York Times, Food Network, Newsweek, Washington Post, Forbes, Prevention, WebMD, Consumer Reports, Boston Globe, Newsday, Time, The Atlanta Journal Constitution Readers Digest, and Cosmopolitan, People, Parade, Cooking Light, Parents, Shape, Self, More, Sports Illustrated, Woman's Day, More, All You and O magazines. She has appeared on CBS, The Early Show, CNN, CBS News Boston, NBC News, Boston, NPR and Fox TV, Boston. In 2012, Joan was named by Good Housekeeping Magazine as the expert to follow on Twitter for healthy eating. She is currently working towards her doctorate. Follow her on Twitter at: @JoanSalgeBlake.