athletes' medical information - Coca-Cola

athletes’ medical information
Ways to encourage good nutrition practices
in children
Encourage children to become involved in
menu planning for the family meals, and for
special needs associated with their training
and competition sessions.
Encourage positive messages that good
eating practices, involving good choices of
foods and drinks, are part of the formula for
sporting success and a healthy life.
Plan ahead to have nutrient-rich snacks to
meet energy needs over the day, and the
special needs of fuelling up for sport or
recovering after the session. Some
preparation is needed to have these choices
on hand over the day, and before or after sport.
The female athlete
As well as the specific nutritional needs of their
sport, female athletes face some additional
dietary needs and challenges to their male
counterparts.
These can generally be summarised as:
Having additional requirements for some
nutrients (e.g., iron)
Having lower energy requirements due to low
body mass and muscle mass, and perhaps a
lighter training load
Facing pressure to achieve lower levels of
body fat than seems natural or healthy for
their body
Greater risk of succumbing to stress related
to body image and food
Information related to good practice in these
areas is found in other sections of this booklet.
However, it is worth noting here that there is
enormous pressure on many female athletes to
achieve an unrealistic body weight and body fat
level. This can compromise both short term
athletic performance and long term health, with
the real possibility of harm to reproductive
health and to bone health. Any athlete with
menstrual irregularities should treat these as a
possible warning sign, and seek professional
advice. Female athletes, and indeed any athlete
who develops stress related to eating and their
physique, should seek expert help at an early
stage.
12-113-COC_Paralymics_Booklet_20120718.indd 40
7/18/12 4:29 PM