Issue 9 - Back to School
Nutrition E-Bites Edition 9 February 2009
As children around the nation head back to school this month, it's a great time for parents to look at what their kids are eating. What is going into the lunch box? Does this fuel growing bodies and the high energy needs of active kids doing school sports? Who chooses what and how much food kids eat? Is some fresh food eaten (e.g. fruit, vegetables) or is it all packaged? Active children need more fuel than non-active friends, and overweight children may need to change their eating, but not necessarily decrease volume. Maintaining adequate nutrition in athletic children is of great importance to their overall health, growth, development, and consequently to their sporting performance. The well nourished junior athlete will be able to play better and for longer, stay mentally alert, and recover quicker from training and competition. Encourage kids to keep hydrated by letting them choose their own special drink bottle next time you're out shopping. Talk to them about what their sporting heroes would eat at different meals, to entice them to eat well (feel free to embellish on this one!). Eating enough can be difficult if they become too busy or too tired to eat regularly. This is often the case in the evening, so the afternoon tea snack becomes very important, especially after a hectic day of school and sport. The solution is to have a selection of healthy foods available fast; consider keeping leftovers from the previous night's dinner. This meal may replace the "main" evening meal, with a small snack (e.g. yoghurt and fruit) then eaten after sport later that evening. The best way to help children achieve successful weight and behaviour changes is for the whole family to be involved. Depending on the child's age, and whether they are concerned about their weight, parents may want to discuss making lifestyle changes with their child. If so, it's important to emphasise changes in health and fitness, and a change in body shape over time. With younger children, some parents successfully make changes without needing to let the child know their concerns. Older children need to be involved and take a greater part in their own plans, but still need family support and involvement. Family involvement means that all members of the family are cooperative with the lifestyle changes needed. It will take some time to make changes, and to find out what works for your family, but try different ideas and keep working at it. Remember, everyone in the family will benefit from the changes. Here are some useful tips for families: Most of all, be a positive role model for your child to help them develop a healthy interest in a variety of foods to provide the best type of fuel. And of course, always look for ways to keep them well fed, hydrated, and active! SDA have just launched their updated versions of "Fuelling and Cooling the Junior Athlete" and "The Overweight Child - a Family Approach" fact sheets. Have a read through these for more great advice. SDA hope you find this a useful e-resource. If you have any suggestions of content or sports nutrition information you would like to know about, we will happily take ideas on board. Please email info@sportsdietitians.com.au Yours in sports nutrition, Sports Dietitians Australia **If you would prefer to receive these e-newsletters directly then please email info@sportsdietitians.com.auBACK TO SCHOOL
IS MY CHILD WELL FUELLED?
THE FAMILY APPROACH