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DTN3SPN Sports Nutrition:

Nutrition across the lifespan

La Trobe Univers ity CRICOS P rovider Code Num ber 00115M

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In today’s class:
• Nutritional requirements for:
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Masters

• Challenges across the lifespan

Learning
objectives

La Trobe Univers ity CRICOS P rovider Code Num ber 00115M

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Learning objectives
The ILO’s covered in today’s lecture:

• Analyse and integrate evidence in providing appropriate nutritional advice to

athletes and active individuals within their scope of practice.

• Evaluate and assess the nutritional demands of athletic performance in a variety

of sports and life stages

• Evaluate and integrate the role of nutritional factors and environmental factors

affecting physical performance

The Junior athlete
• Ensuring athlete is reaching all nutritional requirements

• Supporting the development process

• Easily influences how they may be as an adult athlete
• Understanding skeletal growth and maturation
• Skeletal growth – increase in total body size
• Maturation – consolidating muscle and bone growth which sets
them up for adulthood
• Athletes will have higher macronutrient (and some micronutrient)
requirements to support growth.

• Opportunity to develop a good relationship with food

• Food = fuel
The Junior athlete
• Skeletal growth
• Supporting an increase in bone growth & mass
• Growth spurts occurring during childhood, but slowing down from puberty
• Usually see more growth in legs than trunk
• During puberty – trunk growth spurt occurs

• Calcium becomes an important mineral during this lifespan

• At birth – 30g calcium
• After 20 years of life – 1500g calcium
• 50-80% of bone mineral is accrued very rapidly during 2-4 years of
pubertal growth
• Highlights the importance of meeting calcium requirements during
puberty
The junior athlete
• Slowing of skeletal growth and delayed maturation can occur in sports that
have a strong focus on ‘leanness’
• Gymnastics – female athletes are ‘peaking’ at 14-16y.o
• The short stature of female gymnasts may be due to delayed maturation

• Disordered eating/eating disorders – not just in elite athletes

• As young as 2 y.o can understand language which relates to body image
• Programs targeting how you speak to young children
• http://www.confidentbody.net/
The junior athlete –
Nutrition requirements
• Lack of evidence understanding the nutrition requirements for young athletes
• Generally using modified adult requirements

• Able to use the NRV’s as a guide to macro and micronutrient requirements

• Exception – adolescence going through growth spurt
• Higher energy and fat requirements
• Reduced CHO requirements (as compared to adults at the same
workload)
• Micronutrients – higher amounts of iron, zinc and calcium
Energy requirements
• Adequate intake supports normal growth

• Meeting the needs of training and competition

• Chronic negative energy balance during growth results in:

• Short stature
• Delayed puberty
• Menstrual irregularities
• Poor bone health
• Increased incidence of injuries
• Risk of developing eating disorders

• Searching for energy requirements for children and adolescence?

• Very few studies have measure energy expenditure for various sports
• Estimates are often extrapolated from adults
• Children are less energy efficient than adults and more inefficient with motor
skills
• Energy requirements are generally underestimated.
Protein requirements
• Higher requirements to support growth and development

• Sport specific protein requirements are non-existent due to lack of

evidence

• Baseline protein requirements = 1.2 – 1.5g/kg BW to support growth and

development along with recovery from their specific sport

• (Generally) if food intake is matching their energy expenditure, than

protein requirements are being met.

• Increase in young vegetarian athletes

• Important to understand why they are doing this
• Need to rule out controlling of weight
Carbohydrate requirements
• Some research suggests that CHO utilisation is 20% lower than adults (however, oxidation is
significantly higher than adults)

• Potentially higher CHO requirements due to preserving of endogenous CHO supply

• Important to ensure that the young athletes are adequately fuelled for the
training/competition

• CHO intake will likely be higher due age group (likely to have more takeaways/fruit/soft
drinks)

• Keen focus on oral health and food intake

Calcium, iron and zinc
requirements
Calcium:
Age EAR RDI
All
1-3 yr 360 mg/day 500 mg/day
4-8 yr 520 mg/day 700 mg/day
Boys
9-11 yr 800 mg/day 1,000 mg/day
12-13 yr 1,050 mg/day 1,300 mg/day
14-18 yr 1,050 mg/day 1,300 mg/day
Girls
9-11 yr 800 mg/day 1,000 mg/day
12-13 yr 1,050 mg/day 1,300 mg/day
14-18 yr 1,050 mg/day 1,300 mg/day
Calcium, iron and zinc
requirements
Iron:
Age EAR RDI
All
1-3 yr 4 mg/day 9 mg/day
4-8 yr 4 mg/day 10 mg/day
Boys
9-13 yr 6 mg/day 8 mg/day
14-18 yr 8 mg/day 11 mg/day
Girls
9-13 yr 6 mg/day 8 mg/day
14-18 yr 8 mg/day 15 mg/day
Calcium, iron and zinc
requirements
Zinc:
Age EAR RDI
All
1-3 yr 2.5 mg/day 3 mg/day
4-8 yr 3.0 mg/day 4 mg/day
Boys
9-13 yr 5 mg/day 6 mg/day
14-18 yr 11 mg/day 13 mg/day
Girls
9-13 yr 5 mg/day 6 mg/day
14-18 yr 6 mg/day 7 mg/day
Hydration
• Children & adolescent athletes are at higher risk of dehydration

• More recently, hyponatraemia is of higher risk

• Increased water intake with no electrolyte replacement = risk of
hyponatraemia

• Important to assess the individual situation when it comes to drink choice

• Lots of children’s sport are during the day and afternoon

• Hottest part of the day (generally)

• The use of electrolyte tablets/oral rehydration solution (ORS)

• Less sugar, more electrolytes
Working with junior
athletes
• Make food enjoyable!
• Allow children to experiment with food
• Why do/don’t you like that particular food

• Minimise negative language around children when discussing food

• Remember, children as young as 2 y.o can pick up on negative talk about food
and body image

• Higher nutritional requirements for development purposes

• Need to ensure that you are matching their energy expenditure needs
• Iron, zinc and calcium are higher
• Vitamin D is a common deficiency due to training load

• Hydration is super important for this lifespan

• Reduce risk of dehydration through the use of electrolyte powers or ORS

• Consider oral health – rinse out mouth with water post CHO intake
Masters athletes
• Nutrition recommendation and interventions for aging athletes are based
on:
• Physiological changes associated with aging
• Additional nutrient requirements due to physical activity
• Presence of any medical condition that requires specific dietary intervention

• Decreased absorption of nutrients due to the aging process

• Hormonal changes occurring

• Menopause can lead to increased weight gain
• Poor body image issues seen in this lifespan – both male and female
 Masters athletes
Major physiological changes include:
Age-related change
Decreased muscle mass
Decreased aerobic capacity
Decreased muscle glycogen stores
Decreased bone density
Decreased immune function
Decreased gastric acid
Decreased skin capacity for synthesis Increased need for Vit B12
Nutritional implication
Decreased energy requirements
Decreased energy requirements
Decreased energy requirements
Increased need for Vit D and calcium
Increased need for Vit B6, E and Zinc
Increased Vit B12, folate, calcium, zinc & iron
Energy recommendations
• Decreased energy requirements generally seen due to:
• Decrease in muscle mass – sarcopenia
• Decrease in energy expenditure
• Decrease in training loads

• Schofield equation an accurate way to determine estimated energy

requirements

• Consider the type of training intensity along with frequency

CHO requirements
• Adult recommendations can be applied for masters athletes
• Due to the ability to store adequate amounts of energy in muscles

• Periodisation is important her due to making sure that you are not
increasing the overall energy intake

• Apply the same guidelines as per type of activity being completed

• Focus on good quality carbohydrates when able

• Higher risk that this population may have insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
Protein requirements
• Protein requirements are (at least) 25% higher than younger adults

• Absorption is significantly decreased along with protein turnover being

higher
• Due to the process of sarcopenia

• Baseline requirement – 1.0 – 1.2g/kg

• This may change to 1.2 – 1.4g/kg

• Higher protein requirements may assist with slowing down the process of
sarcopenia

• Before increasing protein intake – ensure you are checking the athlete’s
kidney health
• What blood tests should we looking out for?
Vitamins and minerals
• Decreased absorption of:
• Vitamin B6, B12, D and calcium
• B6 is involved with amino acid metabolism
• Higher amounts may be need due to increased urinary losses

• Some medication may reduce absorption of specific vitamins and minerals

• Immune system needs to be well-supported as this age group are high risk
to illness .eg. Common cold, flu

•
Hydration
• Decrease in total body water & decrease in plasma volume = increased risk
of heat stress

• Increased urinary rate due to inefficient renal hormones = increased rate of

losses = increased risk of hyponatraemia

• Reduced thirst sensation

• Decreased rate of thermoregulation

• Decrease in sweat production

• Younger adult recommendations for hydration to be applied EXCEPT:

• During bouts of high temperatures & humidity
Working with masters
athletes
• Ensure hydration status is checked regularly and rectified (if needed)

• Increased protein intake (1.0 – 1.2g/kg)

• Remember to check their kidney health prior to this
• Speak with a Sports Dietitian to determine this

• Understand the physiological changes occurring due to the aging process

• Take down an accurate training program to ensure nutritional needs are

being met

• Understand their current medical status and if on any medications which

could impact on nutrient absorption or ability to participate in physical
activity
 Questions?
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