Do Adolescent Athletes Need a Special Diet?

The scope and speed of development through the teen years place a unique demand on your child’s resources. During this time, the saying “you are what you eat” has particular significance. 

Adolescent athletes have different nutritional needs to support the journey between childhood and adulthood. Our sports medicine providers at Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, P.C. can help your teen identify the essential nutritional needs necessary to support strength and development throughout adolescence while excelling in their sport.

A teen’s need for calories

The human body needs more calories during the early years of adolescence than at any other time. On average, teen girls require 2,200 calories daily, while boys need 2,800. 

These appetites usually taper off once your child stops growing. However, particularly tall or active teens could still see elevated needs. Calories aren’t the only requirement for the adolescent diet, however. They also need a balanced intake of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. 

Nutrient requirements

Carbohydrates, fat, and protein are the energy sources on which the body depends. Your teen requires a balance of these. 

Carbohydrates

Carb intake can be a contentious dietary point because not all carbohydrates are created equally. Complex carbs, including foods like beans, fruits, grains, and vegetables, are the “good” carbs that your teen needs. Eat whole, freshly prepared foods whenever possible. 

The challenge for teens is often the availability and temptation of simple carbohydrates. These take the form of food and drinks filled with sugar that provide brief energy bursts and calories but little else of nutritional significance. Heavily processed foods are often full of simple carbohydrates. 

Ideally, about 50% or more of the calories in your teen’s diet should focus on complex carbs. Although it might be working against your kid’s picky palate, try to expand the range of fruits and vegetables they’re exposed to in search of new, nutritionally sound favorites. 

Dietary fat

Fats are another macronutrient with good and bad versions. While fats should be capped at 30%, only 10% of calories should come from saturated fats—the kind found in animal products, including dairy, and certain plant oils like coconut and palm oils. 

The remainder of fat calories should focus on mono- and polyunsaturated fats. These include monounsaturated olive oil and olives, peanut oil, peanuts, and peanut butter, as well as other nuts and canola oil. 

Proteins

American teens typically eat twice as much protein as their bodies require. Protein is found in its densest forms in meat, fish, cheese, and eggs. Encourage eating lean meat to minimize the impact of saturated fat. 

Minerals and vitamins

When your child eats a varied and well-rounded diet, they’ll be getting the minerals and vitamins they need. This is better than trying to make up shortfalls with supplements. 

At Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, P.C., we can educate your teen on the importance of a balanced diet to support the physical demands of participating in a competitive sport and the prevention of injuries. 

Call 609.896.9190 or click to book an appointment at our office in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.