Are sports drinks a smart choice for young athletes?

Driven to excel, push many youth athletes through sports practices and games to the point of exhaustion. Although this physical effort can benefit cardiovascular and muscular fitness, a developing competitive mind and the pleasure of a child of the game, Without appropriate attention to hydration, youth athletes can have serious consequences, especially when exercising in hot and humid environments.

Coaches, athletic trainers, pediatricians, parents and even youth athletes know that children have to drink liquids during physical activity. A lot of Describe text books how children are more vulnerable than adults when it comes to regulating body temperature and the stay of thirstySo children drinkoften reach for Sports drinks, energy drinks and other flavored drinks instead of water. In one study, more than 50Calculation adolescents consumeof sports drinks and 42Calculation had consumed Sports drinks in the two weeks prior to the survey. Generally“ Sports drink consumption decreases for all sex, age And Category Ras/EthnicityoneS“ But has NOT lowered for children with obesity and have increased for children who look more than two Hours of television a day. Although in some cases sports drinks (but not energy drinks) can offer benefits to youth athletes, in other cases the dependence on sweetened drinks does not even overtake the health benefits of exercise and contribute to the worldwide problem of obesity in children.

In an attempt to Cleaning up confusion and pediatricians, coaches, parents and youth fitness professionals, the American Academy or Pediatrics guiding (MONKEY) two important articles published with regard to optimally Hydration for youth athletes: ((1) A policy statement about Heat stress and exercise And ((2) A clinical report on Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents. In addition“ The monkey has launched a webpage that is devoted to Choose water for healthy hydration. Some findings and recommendations are somewhat surprisingWhile others repeat common precautions. Here is a brief summary of their most important conclusions and recommendations:

1. Unlike last Think, children do it High levels of physical exertion when exercising in the heat compared to their adult colleagues“ so long she retain appropriate hydration. This conclusion is a great deviation from the last Note that children naturally have poor capacity to regulate body temperature.
2. Most children can be safe participate In outdoor sports and other physically challenging efforts in different climates, including warm to warm conditions. In addition to guaranteeing adequate hydration, Coaches, parents and other supervisory adults must take care of it That Children receive sufficient recovery between training sessions, training sessions on the same day or rounds of sports competition; that they wear appropriate clothing, uniforms and protective equipment (if necessary) not to retain excessive heat; And that the adults in each The child’s fitness level and gradually (instead of abruptly) increase the effort of the exercise.
3. Correct hydration is essential for optimally Health and athletic performance. In a lot of Cases, normal water must be the primary source of hydration for children and adolescents. The Monkey recommends Those children 1 year Unpleasant 3 years old needs about 4 cups of liquid a day, children 4 Unpleasant 8 years old needs about 5 cups of liquid per day, and children aged 9 years and older need about 7 Unpleasant 8 cups of liquid per day. However, it should be noted that the actual amounts of liquid intake must be individualized, depending on the environmental conditions and physically–activity Levels. Is thirsty Generally one Good guide decisive Intake. A more precise method for monitoring the hydration status is to weigh the child both before and after exercise. The goal is to prevent weight loss after a single activity. In children“ The negative effects of dehydration on performance can occur rather than in adult– Regulation with as little as one 1% decrease in Body weight. The following process can be used Determine liquid intake needs based on weight loss after the exercise:
   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Register the weight of pre-exercise*: _____ pound Register weight after the exercise: _____ pound After the exercise, pull off the weight before the exercise: _____ pound Multiplication pounds during exercise at 3 to determine How Lots of liquid to replace after exercise: _____ cups It is also a good idea to measure how much water was consumed during exercise and to adjust the intake accordingly. For example, if an athlete loses weight consistently during exercise, they can increase their water consumption during exercise instead of concentrating on replacing liquid afterwards. *Let athletes weigh in the same clothing when absorbing the weight of pre- and postal exercise, and noticing that dry clothing can be at the start of the exercise after exercise when they are soaked with sweat. It is perhaps best to have them turn into dry clothing after training that are similar to what they wore for pre-exercise roads.

4. Sports drinks – jobs contained Carbohydrates, proteins or electrolytes-play A role in guaranteeing appropriate hydration and nutrition for optimally Performance in combination with water during intense and long -term exercise that last more than an hour. However, Routine consumption of sports drinks for the average child who deals with routine physical activity, or instead of water in the lunchroom or at home, can lead to excessive calorie intake and an increased risk of overweight and dental problems. This has become a particularly widespread problem, because sports drinks have replaced soft drinks in school cutting shoes and cafeterias. According to the monkey, wIs aer Best choice of drinks for children For three simple reasons: (1) iT‘s super healthyas water has 0 calories and no added sugar; (2) iIt’s good for the bodylike water helps to keep joints healthy, is good for the teeth and helps circulating blood; and (3) IIt’s good for the SpiritBecause continuing concentration and focus helps. When TREAVE TRAIN or sweating, children from 9 to 12 years have 3 to 3 to 8 us from water every 20 minutes to retain Hydration and teenagers have to be approximately 34 to 50 us per hour.
5. Energy drinks – Banks contained caffeine next carbohydrate– must be avoided. Although caffeine can offer performance benefits for adults, their effects were not properly investigated in children. Moreover, it is difficult to know the real caffeine content for many drinks. Some are allowed contain as many as 500 mgWhich is equivalent to about 14 cans of soft drinks. A deadly dose of caffeine is somewhere around 100 to 200 mg For each pound of body weight (that is why the impact of caffeine is the most important for younger and lighter children), but caffeineetoxicity can occur with many smaller doses. In general, parents, coaches and schools are not allowed to offer or allow children of children. Energy drinks pose Potential health risks Mainly because of their stimulating (caffeine) content and are never safe for children.
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Children Flushing Irritability and sleepiness Dark -colored urine or less urine (should be almost clear) Sticky mouth or dry lips

   Teenagers Light in the head Dry mouth or lips Thirst Cramp Dark -colored urine or less urine (should be almost clear) Quick wrist Headache Flushing Feel excessly cold or warm

   
   

   
   

   
   

   If you are worried about heat -related disease or dehydration, do not hesitate to call a medical care provider. If a child does not respond or extremely listless, vomits, complains, complains about abdominal pain or stops sweating, go directly to first aid or call 911.

Last thoughts

Large Gatorade coolers and various other sports drinks have become characteristics at youth sports events and have displaced water as a drink in many places. Although sports drinks may be needed for certain athletes who perform high intensity and long -term exercise, water remains the ideal drink to optimize hydration, to arrange the body temperature in challenging climates and to determine the stage for a successful physical striving for active youth.