TrueSport: June 2020

All-day events: Top 6 foods to avoid when you’re in charge of the team’s snacks

As a parent of a young athlete, you’re likely going to be on snack duty at some point during the season. For some competitions or practices, this will be easier: a few granola bars, orange slices, and you’re good to go. But for longer days, like track and field meets or regional matches that involve travel, warm-ups, and post-game awards ceremonies before heading home, you may be asked to provide meals or snacks to keep athletes satiated from breakfast to dinner. Here are a few foods to avoid bringing — and what to bring instead.

Avoid – Only simple carbohydrates

Kids who are participating in all-day events need a steady intake of carbohydrates, as well as proteins and fats, throughout the day. Often, parents on snack duty think about energy and then bring ultra-processed gummies, granola bars, cookies, and pastries. While small amounts of low-fat versions of these can be useful in between races and in the middle of games, all-day events require snacks with proteins and fats to keep athletes satiated and avoid blood sugar spikes and drops.

Instead: Plan out the day’s meals around when athletes are going to be working the hardest. In the hour before competition, prioritize simple carbohydrates with easy-to-eat snacks like granola bars, fresh/dried fruit, or fruit juice. For track and field meets where there are multiple races throughout the day, post-race snacks should focus on carbohydrates but include protein as well. Here, chocolate milk is a great option. To properly fuel athletes a couple hours before competition or after events, try larger snacks like almond butter and jam on whole wheat bread or a yogurt parfait with granola and berries.

Avoid – Anything caffeinated

Teens are more sensitive to caffeine than adults, so while your cup of coffee or soda at the game may keep you awake during the slower moments, it can have a negative impact on your young athlete. Caffeine can make kids jittery, exacerbate nerves, and lead to an energy crash that impacts their performance. Caffeine can also lead to dehydration. More specifically, most energy drinks don’t contain appropriate electrolytes, so sipping one can leave your athlete depleted after a long day, especially in hot weather.

Instead: Make your own sports drink! Find a single-ingredient fruit juice and dilute it down to 50 percent water and 50 percent juice. Then add a pinch of sea salt and a small spoonful of honey for a natural sports drink that won’t have athletes crashing on the field.

Avoid – Fatty snacks

Pepperoni and beef jerky may sound like protein-filled, tasty treats, but on game days, these high fat and highly processed snacks are going to negatively impact your athlete. They’re hard to digest and can lead to gastric distress in athletes, especially during harder efforts, and they won’t effectively fuel athletes as their glycogen stores drop throughout the day.

Instead: Save the jerky for post-game and opt for easier to digest finger food like pretzels, granola bars, any type of fresh or dried fruit, or low-fat crackers while the competition is going on.

Avoid – Obvious allergies

More than 6 million children in the U.S. have a food allergy, according to the American College of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology. A whopping 2.5 percent of children have peanut allergies, lactose intolerance is the second most common allergy for children, and gluten sensitivities are also on the rise. Ask ahead of time if any athletes have allergies and you can even check with your school or sports association since there may be some rules in place for what you can and can’t bring.

Instead: Almonds are less likely to provoke an allergic reaction, so after checking with the team, try swapping almonds for peanuts to get athletes vitamin E and iron, as well as healthy fats. If you’re bringing milk products, such as chocolate milk, make sure you have a lactose-free option.

Avoid – Heavy desserts

While the occasional cupcake celebration is great, it’s better to model healthier eating practices for kids after exercise. This isn’t necessarily a nutritional mandate, but it is a good way to showcase that rewards for exercise or a job well done don’t need to be food-based. Too often, parents use treats like ice cream or cake to signal that a child has done something good, which can lead to a negative relationship with food later in life.

Instead: Consider the slightly healthier option of muffins with fruit and vegetables mixed in, such as a carrot cake muffin with actual chunks of carrot, pineapple, and raisin. And skip the frosting.

Avoid – Anything messy

For obvious reasons, your child’s coach would prefer that you save the sloppy joes for times when athletes aren’t in uniform!

Instead: Stick to options that come with their own wrapping, such as a paper-wrapped bean and rice burrito with minimal sauce to prevent dripping. And always bring a roll of paper towels.

Takeaway

Properly fueling athletes for competition, especially all-day or all-weekend events, is no easy task, but there are some basic guidelines to help make the decision-making process a little easier. In general, stick to foods with minimal ingredients and a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and some healthy fats.

Why do some athletes struggle with body image?

Body image issues in athletes can come from a wide variety of sources: certain sports value specific weights and body types more than others, athletes will deal with puberty in different ways, and some student athletes struggle with control in other areas of their lives, which can lead to body image issues and unhealthy behaviors around food and exercise.

There isn’t one specific type of young athlete who’s at risk. Anyone can struggle with body image issues, and it’s important for parents and coaches to understand the different ways that those issues can be triggered. Here, Melissa Streno, a clinical psychologist who specializes in athletic performance and its intersection with disordered eating and body image issues, explains what might make certain types of athletes more prone to dealing with destructive body image issues. She also offers tips on how you can help.

Girls have higher risk

"Historically, in terms of gender, I think we would we have seen higher numbers of females with the experience of disordered eating, eating disorders, and body image concerns and thoughts,” says Streno. For some perspective, roughly 80 percent of women in the U.S. reportedly are unhappy with the way they look, and 70 percent of ‘normal weight’ women report that they want to be thinner. Even between the ages of three and six years old, half of girls worry about ‘being fat.’

How to help: Establish an open-door, judgement-free policy as soon as possible with your team or child so they know you’re available to discuss problems. For coaches, pay close attention to behaviors around eating and watch for signs of bullying. You can also consider holding regular team-wide check-ins where you discuss issues like body image, either as a group or with the help of an expert like Streno.

But boys are not immune

“People hear eating disorder and they automatically assume that it’s a female issue,” says Streno. "But there are issues like muscle dysmorphia, which is when someone is trying to achieve a specific body type or a certain amount of muscle to look a particular way. We see a lot of that with males. Now we're seeing a lot more men who need treatment and seek out support."

How to help: Role model open communication habits around body image. “Historically, there has been such a bias and stigma around seeking help and that males need to be strong,” explains Streno. “There was this idea that they can fix themselves on their own, but it’s important to ensure that young men are also seeking help when they’re struggling.”

Aesthetic and weight-class sports

“In certain sports, there is lot of pressure to look a particular way. We know that all sports can predispose an athlete to developing disordered eating, but there are absolutely sports that are more focused on the aesthetics,” says Streno. These include sports like gymnastics or figure skating that have subjective scoring, as well as sports with certain weight classes, such as wrestling or boxing. It can also include team sports, such as football or cross country running, where there are certain body types associated with specific positions or the ability to be successful.

How to help: Ensure that athletes have access to solid nutritional information that addresses how they can meet their sport goals in a healthy way. Streno also suggests that coaches reduce body image concerns by choosing uniforms that are more comfortable and offering a wider range of options.

Athletes going through puberty

As hormones begin to shift and their bodies begin to change, athletes are more prone to experience body image issues, and this can start as young as eight years old. “Puberty hits at different rates for males and females, and at different times,” says Streno. “It's so confusing for somebody to have their body changing outside the sport context, especially when they believe they are supposed to be maintaining a particular body image for their sport.”

How to help: Explain what to expect and what your athletes are going through. Most young people are confused by puberty and you can help by providing information about why and how their bodies are changing — and how they’ll be able to improve athletically because of it. For parents, be aware of how you talk about food and nutrition, especially during this time. Try not to comment on a child’s weight, shape, or size – and don’t compare them to anyone else. Empower kids by role modeling and encouraging self-talk that is kind and respectful.

Athletes with perfectionist tendencies

Unfortunately, the traits that can make an athlete great can also contribute negatively to their body image and lead to disordered eating. “When you think about perfectionism and orderliness and compulsivity, that predisposes some of these athletes to be rigid about the way they look in their uniforms, what they eat, and how much they work out in order to influence their body image," says Streno.

How to help: Watch your language. “As a coach or parent, be aware of what you're saying about your body and how you're treating your body. Kids are sponges and absorb everything that you say,” explains Streno. She urges parents and coaches to avoid talking about anything around body image, physical appearance, physique, food control, and discipline around eating. Seek out positive role models for your athletes, whether it’s professional athletes who are focused on spreading messages around body positivity, experts in sports nutrition, or even team alumni who are doing well in their careers now.

Athletes struggling in other areas

Unfortunately, many young athletes struggle with a lack of control in most areas of their lives, and their bodies can become the one ‘controllable’ component. “We see athletes start to struggle with this a lot when things are changing or they’re having issues in other areas of their life,” says Streno. “They use their bodies to maintain some form of control, whether it’s restricting eating, over-exercising, or beginning the binge-purge cycle. They want to feel like they have some control when everything else in their life is changing, sports-related or not."

How to help: Start by offering emotional support, not advice, and seek help for your athlete from an expert. Lastly, don’t normalize body image issues as ‘part of sport,’ warns Streno. Negative body image can lead to increased risk for depression, anxiety, and even suicidal tendencies. Often, there are underlying issues, and to promote the idea that it’s part of the game can be damaging to the athlete and keep them from getting help in another area of life where it’s gravely needed.

Takeaway

While awareness of body composition and body image is inevitable, there are some risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of negative body image issues. That’s why it’s important for parents and coaches to employ healthy communication and behaviors around body image.

Comparison v. competition: How to develop positive body image on teams

For young athletes, maintaining a positive body image is difficult at the best of times, but when a competitive team atmosphere is added into the mix, that positivity can become even harder.

No matter how much you talk about the importance of pulling together as a team, your athletes are going to naturally compete with each other, as well as with rival teams, explains Melissa Streno, a clinical psychologist who specializes in athletic performance and its intersection with disordered eating and body image issues. This isn’t unhealthy, but it can go too far. “Teammates start mimicking each other’s behavior,” says Streno. “So, once you notice a problem with one athlete, know that there’s likely going to be a trickle-down effect.”

As a coach, you may not notice the subtle ways your team is creating an unhealthy environment when it comes to body image, eating patterns, and other habits. Below, Streno explains some of the warning signs to watch for as your athletes try to find success in competitive sports and how you can help foster a body positive image culture on your team.

Warning signs

Changes in performance: “First, I would keep an eye out for a big shift in performance, where physically or psychologically, something seems off,” says Streno. “Physically, I think one of the easiest things to look for is a change in weight or body shape, or a major change in fitness.” Keep in mind that not all physical consequences of disordered eating or eating disorders are visible to the eye.

“Psychologically, we might notice a difference in their mood, more conflicts with teammates and coaches, and more isolative tendencies or less desire to be part of the team as they try to hide concerning behaviors.”

Behavior around meals: Streno recommends watching out for kids avoiding meals or changing their behaviors around mealtime. Are some kids making constant excuses to skip meals?

Overtraining: Body image isn’t just about changes in caloric consumption, Streno warns. “Pay attention for when athletes start to train beyond the prescribed amount or try to push through injury.”

Need for validation: When an athlete who hasn’t previously come to you for constant feedback or praise is reaching out for validation, that can be a warning sign, say Streno. “Coaches might see an athlete shifting how much they communicate and starting to ask, ‘Am I doing this right? Am I doing enough?’ when they haven’t done so in the past.”

Need for control: Often, disordered eating and overtraining are linked to an athlete’s need for control. Between parents, school, and sports, their sphere of control is limited, and their body is one of the few things that they can ‘control.’ “Very few athletes dealing with body image issues are merely concerned about performance,” says Streno. “It’s often about a need to control things.”

Bullying others: “Food shaming, or critiquing what other people are doing, is common,” says Streno. “And oftentimes, it's to make the person who's doing the critiquing feel better when they’re dealing with a lot of self-consciousness or low self-esteem.” Bullying obviously cannot be tolerated on a team, but remember that the food-shaming student is likely suffering and needs help.

Fixation on food trends: “If you constantly hear athletes comparing what they’re eating, talking about new diets, or gossiping about body image and comparing body types, that’s a sign of a team-wide problem,” says Streno. “Try to find the source of these messages." Research has shown that information provided by peers is more important to young athletes than what they see in the media or read about.

How to help foster positive body image

Your words matter: “Athletes form an idea around even small comments,” says Streno. It may be unintentional, but your words can have dire consequences, so be extremely careful how you speak about eating habits, body type or weight, or any kind of physique-based advice.

Focus on strength: Rather than focusing on a specific type of physique, focus on strength. “Ask athletes what makes them feel strong, how can they maintain that level of strength, and what gives them energy,” Streno says. Create a team ethos that focuses on body positivity and what your athletes can do, rather than on flaws or places to improve. In addition to sharing that message yourself, seek out good role models in the community. Research has shown that younger girls are heavily influenced by older peers when it comes to body image.

Bring in an expert: If you notice that some of your team members are struggling with body image issues or implementing unhealthy eating habits, you can bring in a sport psychologist or another specialist to address the team, says Streno. This whole-team approach avoids singling out specific individuals, which can make the athletes who are struggling feel less self-conscious. But of course, if you notice an athlete is having extreme food and/or body-related issues, it’s important to get that athlete help immediately, rather than waiting.

Find positive outside influences: "I'm always encouraging athletes to filter out their social media, including the people that they follow,” says Streno. Coaches can help steer athletes to positive body image messages and accounts that promote a healthy approach to sport performance.

Takeaway

Body image is often influenced by surrounding people and cultures, which means that a competitive team environment can make it hard to maintain a positive body image. By watching out for these warning signs and fostering positive habits, coaches can help develop positive body image on their teams.

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