Consultancy Corner: Give protein rich diet to adolescents pursuing sports

As adolescent’s body is still growing, it’s vital that they eat enough good quality food and the right kinds to meet their energy and nutrition needs. Teenagers are usually into a lot of activities and the school timings being early in the morning, the options of carrying a balanced diet becomes difficult in some homes. 

Adolescence is also the time when youngsters tend to put on weight easily.  Their meals are also influenced a lot by their friends and peers, besides social pressures. Foods like pizzas, aerated drinks and fries are often the culprits: while they deny the advantages of nutrition to the children, they end up with issues like obesity, acne, oily skin besides others. 

Eating wholesome, nutritious food before exercise helps boost stamina and endurance. Many children leave home early in the morning for sports training. From thereon, they go to school directly and onto tuitions or further sports practices before returning home. They are out of the house for almost twelve hours in a day. If they depend on canteens and / or restaurants for their meals or snacks, they will be deprived of the protein, vitamins and minerals needed in this phase of their life. Further, kids must be encouraged to go in for fresh, healthy food (preferably hand carried, home-cooked food), in preference to ready-to-eat packaged foods.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It can help with memory and concentration at school, and give kids energy to study and play. Regular breakfast eaters tend to have a healthier weight than those who skip breakfast. Children should have a glass of milk before they head out for a workout or training. This must be followed with a proper breakfast that includes dhokla, poha, Idli, dosa, cold rice with curd, or paratha with a fruit. If this is not possible, they should at least have generous helpings of thick multi-grain porridge with milk or butter milk and a fruit for breakfast. Fruits, more specifically seasonal fruits, are and must remain an important feature in the breakfast menu of the children. 

Meals at school lunch times should be balanced with emphasis on vegetables and dal in a vegetarian meal and vegetables, meat (non-red meat) or fish in non-vegetarian meals. Inclusion of curd or buttermilk can add to their bio-available protein in their diet.

To ensure kids get the right amount of nutrition, parents should take extra efforts to send them home-cooked foods before they head out for the day. This can include multi-grain porridge, smoothie, milkshake, grilled sandwiches which have stuffing with whole pulses or panneer, vegetable stuffed idli , dry fruit steamed dishes like momos. These can be consumed at the second break at the school. 

For some reason, should this not be possible, the children should at least carry dry toast, soy poori, besan laddoo, ragi laddoo, nuts such as groundnut or almonds, groundnut chikki, sesame sweets or even fresh fruits. Eating junk food at this time may provide the energy but NOT the vital and much-required proteins, vitamins and minerals. Snacks listed here provide part of the protein, minerals and vitamins needed for their growth. 

If this extra effort is not taken and a child does not get the protein that he or she requires, they can lose out on their potential growth. Over-enthusiastic parents have to provide the child with nutrients required for the growth spurt and extra nutrients required for the added physical exercise that they are doing.