f competition they must undertake a strict training regiment at an extremely young age, and risk their entire childhood. The first reason why young athletes should not be trained to hard is because of a lack of nutrition. An individual’s calorie intake must be increased with any type of strenuous exercise. When athletes attend school for seven hours and have after school practices for another two and half to three hours they are not eating enough to be trained rigorously. This means five days a week they go ten hours with only a lunch in between. Besides sheer lack of meals, athletes become depleted of certain necessary vitamins and minerals by sweating and working out. The parent and coach must question themselves as to whether the athlete is getting a balanced diet? A balanced diet includes: 2-3 servings of fish, poultry, lean meat, or eggs, 3-4 servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese, 6-11 servings of breads, cereals, rice and pasta, 2-4 servings of fruit, and 3-5 servings of vegetables. In a world of cafeteria food, and fast food, do these young athletes get these necessary ingredients for a balanced diet? If athletes are being over trained and not eating much, they risk losing muscle strength, stamina, and having an overall lack of energy. It is documented that athletes need about 1 to 1.5 kilograms of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. What this translates into is about 75-100 grams of protein per day. Athletes can also be dehydrated very easily. The human body requires eight cups of fluid a day. In addition an individual can lose upwards of six cups of fluid during a strict one-hour workout. Dehydration can not be detected very easily. People traditionally think that thirst is the only indicator of dehydration, but it is not. The color of urine is often a primary indicator. How often do young athletes document the color of their urine? It is recommended that people should drink two cups of fluid fo...
