Nutrition for Kids in Sports - Patient’s Mini Guide — References

This page lists the academic and web-based sources that informed the Nutrition for Kids in Sports Patient’s Mini Guide. It is provided for those who wish to review the references used within the guide.

Web Resources:

• KidsHealth. Feeding Your Child Athlete — A parent-friendly guide outlining the higher nutritional needs of growing athletes. Covers balanced meals, energy needs, daily intake patterns, carbohydrate and protein requirements, sugar considerations, hydration advice, fuelling windows, simple pre-session options, and practical recovery timing with balanced snacks.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital: The Importance of Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes — Explains how regular meals and snacks support energy, growth, and performance.
• Lurie Children’s Hospital. Sports Nutrition FAQs for Kids — Evidence-based guidance explaining how youth nutrition differs from adults, including common issues such as tiredness, under-fuelling, and growth-related needs. Provides practical advice on snack choices, portions, carbohydrate-rich foods, protein intake, hydration and electrolyte strategies, and balanced nutrition to support training and warmer conditions.
• Children’s Health. What Young Athletes Should Eat to Perform Their Best — A practical, family-friendly guide outlining the core aims of youth sports nutrition, with clear advice on balanced plates, everyday meals, and snack choices to support training and performance.
• AboutKidsHealth: Sports Nutrition — Explains the combined impact of school, training, and growth on nutrition needs in young athletes.
• Children’s Hospital Colorado. Five Nutrition Truths for Growing Athletes — Evidence-based guidance explaining why steady fuelling across the day supports energy, learning, and growth. Includes clear advice on daily protein needs for young athletes and emphasises a food-first approach over supplements.
• Sports Dietitians Australia. Nutrition for the Junior Athlete — Evidence-based guidance explaining why young athletes have higher per-kilogram nutrition needs and how to support both growth and sport. Covers carbohydrate requirements, plate models, portion cues, timing strategies, pre-session meals, balanced macronutrient choices, recovery snacks, and practical examples of daily eating patterns for training and rest days.
• Better Health VIC. Sporting Performance and Food — A clear guide to fuelling patterns for rest, training, and match days, explaining how carbohydrates, protein, and fats support performance. Includes digestion timing, simple pre-session recommendations, and practical nutrition habits to help young athletes eat well across different types of activity days.
• HealthyChildren.org. Sports Nutrition for Busy Families — Practical guidance for fitting nutritious meals and snacks around school and activities, with clear examples of simple snack choices and helpful hydration habits for active children.
• Children’s Colorado: Athlete’s Plate Resource — Visual models for rest, training, and heavy days that match well with the Everyday Athlete Plate concept.
• Youth Sports Nutrition. Athlete’s Plate — Practical guidance for matching food intake to training load in young athletes, with clear models for rest days, training days, and game-day fuelling.
• Raising Children Network. Nutrition for School-Age Kids — Parent-friendly guidance on everyday nutrition, including practical snack lists and simple lunchbox patterns for school-aged children.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Healthful Snack Choices for Youth Sports — Practical snack ideas to support performance across school days, training sessions, travel, and tournaments, helping young athletes stay fuelled throughout busy routines.
• Children’s Colorado. Carbohydrates for Athletes — Explains how carbohydrates fuel thinking and movement in young athletes, with clear guidance on different carbohydrate types and how they support performance across key training windows.
• HealthyChildren.org: Carbohydrates for Energy — Child-friendly explanation of carbohydrate function and helpful daily choices.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital: Game-Day Fuelling Plan — Clear guidance on adjusting carbohydrate intake for training and match days.
• Children’s Wellness Center: Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes — Helpful guidance on choosing healthier fats and simple swaps.
• KidsHealth Teens: Eat and Run — Simple examples of healthier fats and practical swaps for everyday meals.
• UK Sport Institute. Sports Nutrition Fundamentals — UK-focused guidance covering healthy fat choices and reducing saturated fats, along with practical advice on sweat loss, electrolytes, and hydration for active individuals.
• Hopkins Medicine: Sports and Hydration for Athletes — Clear explanation of hydration timing and fluid needs during sport.
• KidsHealth: Power Drinks — Guidance on sports drinks, energy drinks, and when children should avoid them.
• Healthy Eating Research. Sports Drinks: Research Review — A comprehensive evidence summary explaining when sports drinks may be useful and when they are unnecessary, with detailed guidance on hydration needs in children, sugar-related risks, and recommendations for parents, schools, and youth sport settings.
• Alberta Health Services: Hydration for Activity — Simple hydration patterns for children before, during, and after sport.
• Seattle Children’s Hospital: Why Kids Should Avoid Energy Drinks — Medical stance on caffeine and stimulant use in young people.
• CHOC Health: Hydration for Child & Teen Athletes — Clear guidance on long sessions, hot weather, and electrolyte use.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Fuelling and Hydrating Before, During and After Exercise — Evidence-based guidance for young athletes covering performance nutrition, hydration habits, timing strategies, snack choices, early and late signs of under-fuelling, and practical recovery approaches around training and competition.
• UChicago Medicine. What Young Athletes Should Eat Before and After the Game — Practical fuelling guidance for young athletes, including clear examples of pre-training and pre-game meals, digestion timing, and suitable post-activity recovery snacks.
• The Athlete Academy UK. Recovery Nutrition for Youth Athletes — Guidance on the 30–60 minute recovery window, balanced snack structure, and sample day frameworks for effective post-training meals.
• KHNI / TrueSport: Fuelling Fitness for Young Athletes — Explains the role of protein and carbohydrates after activity.
• NHS. The Eatwell Guide — Official UK guidance on balanced eating for children and families, covering carbohydrates, healthy fats and oils, hydration and fluid intake, and how to combine food groups for growth and everyday nutrition.
• British Dietetic Association. Healthy Eating for Children — Practical guidance for parents on balanced eating patterns, including advice on fats and oils, suitable drinks, and everyday nutrition for growing children.
• British Heart Foundation. Fats explained: saturated, unsaturated and trans fats — Evidence-based guidance on fat types, healthy cooking oils, and practical advice for reducing saturated fat intake and supporting heart health.
• World Health Organization. Dietary Fats and Health — Global evidence on cooking oils and population health.
• American Academy of Pediatrics. Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks — Clinical guidance on hydration for youth, including when electrolytes may be appropriate, the risks linked with sugar intake, and clear recommendations against the use of energy drinks. The report also outlines evidence on the harmful effects of caffeine and stimulant beverages on children and adolescents.
• British Dietetic Association: Carbohydrates — Overview of carbohydrate function in energy, concentration, and physical activity for children and adolescents.
• Lurie Children’s Hospital. Sports Nutrition — Practical guidance on fuelling, hydration, macronutrient needs, under-fuelling signs, and common nutrition challenges faced by young athletes.
• British Heart Foundation: Healthy Fats and Oils — Highlights the benefits of rapeseed and olive oil as heart-friendly, low-saturated-fat options.
• NHS: Choosing Healthier Oils and Spreads — Recommends rapeseed and olive oil for everyday family use to lower saturated fat intake.
• British Nutrition Foundation. Hydration — UK guidance on sweat loss, electrolytes, hydration monitoring, and fluid needs for active individuals.
• HealthyChildren.org. Hydration and Dehydration in Children — Parent-friendly guidance on fluid needs, recognising dehydration (urine-colour and other signs), and caring for hydration status in children.
• International Olympic Committee: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) Consensus Statement — Explains low energy availability, growth impacts, injury risk, and recovery delays.
• British Nutrition Foundation. The Importance of Breakfast for School Children — Evidence showing how a balanced morning meal supports cognitive performance, concentration, and learning in children.
• NHS: Fussy Eating in Children — Guidance on introducing new foods, maintaining flexibility, and reducing food-related stress.
• International Society of Sports Nutrition. Position Stand on Carbohydrate Intake — Supports carbohydrate top-ups during prolonged or intense youth activity.