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Cited by 23Sports Performance and TrainingMuscle metabolism and nutritionNutrition and Health Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 83 of the 83 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 80 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Key Nutritional Considerations for Youth Winter Sports Athletes to Optimize Growth, Maturation and Sporting Development

Open access
Hannon, Marcus P., Flueck, Joelle Leonie, Gremeaux, Vincent, Place, Nicolas, Kayser, Bengt, Donnelly, Chris·2021·Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
DOI 10.3389/fspor.2021.599118PMC PMC7873521
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Abstract

Despite a wealth of sport nutrition guidelines for adult athletes, there are currently no nutrition guidelines for youth winter sports athletes. Whilst it may be pragmatic to apply nutrition guidelines for adult athletes to youth winter sports athletes, it is inappropriate. Due to a paucity of research on youth athletes, it is impossible to provide evidence-based guidelines for this population, so careful extrapolation from the theoretical and practical considerations that apply to other athletic groups is necessary. Youth winter sport athletes undergo rapid biological growth and maturation which influences their nutritional requirements. A varied and balanced diet that ensures sufficient energy availability for optimal growth and maturation as well as sporting performance is the cornerstone of youth athlete nutrition and should also allow for youth athletes to meet their micronutrient requirements. In some cases, micronutrient status (e.g., vitamin D and iron) should be monitored and optimized if appropriate by a medical professional. Dietary supplement use is prevalent amongst youth athletes, however is often unnecessary. Education of youth athletes, their parents and coaches on best nutritional practices as well as the risks associated with dietary supplements is vital for their long-term athletic development. Further research in youth winter sports athletes across different stages of growth and maturation competing in a variety of sports is urgently required in order to inform nutritional guidelines for this population.

Overview

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TL;DR

This narrative mini-review argues that youth winter sport athletes should not simply follow adult sport nutrition guidelines, because growth and maturation impose distinct nutritional requirements. It concludes that no evidence-based guidelines exist for this population and that energy availability, vitamin D, iron, hydration, supplement risk, and education are key priorities pending further research.

Key findings

  • No youth winter sport-specific nutrition guidelines exist; adult guidelines are inappropriate because growth and maturation alter requirements. A varied, balanced diet ensuring sufficient energy availability is the cornerstone, with ≥45 kcal/kg FFM/day likely the minimum for youth athletes, while chronic low energy availability (<30 kcal/kg FFM/day for adults) risks RED-S, impaired growth, bone accrual, and reproductive/immune function.
  • Energy requirements vary widely: youth speed-skaters had mean total energy expenditure of 4037 ± 693 kcal/day (~53 kcal/kg/day), with almost 3000 kcal difference between athletes; Lausanne 2020 Youth Winter Olympic conditions ranged from −10 to 14°C and 400 to 2800 m altitude. The authors note that expert macronutrient recommendations for adolescent athletes (e.g., 3000 kcal) could underestimate actual expenditure (e.g., 4000 kcal/day).
  • Micronutrient concerns include calcium, vitamin D, and iron: ~26% of bone mineral content accrues during peak bone mineral content accrual velocity (~12.5 years in girls, ~14 years in boys), ~95% of adult bone mineral content is achieved by end of adolescence, and skeletal calcium accretion is ~300 mg/day. Vitamin D deficiency is defined as serum 25(OH)D <30 nmol/L, and iron deficiency is highly prevalent in adolescent athletes (up to 50% in females).
  • Hydration and supplements require individualization: ice hockey sweat rates of ~1.8 L/h have been reported, while dietary supplement use is prevalent among youth athletes but often unnecessary and carries health and anti-doping risks. Education of athletes, parents, and coaches is emphasized.

Methods

  • Narrative mini-review using literature searched in Scholar, PubMed, Web-of-Science, and Scopus from inception to December 2020 with keywords including nutrition, energy expenditure, athletes, youth, winter, and sport.
  • The paper synthesizes limited available literature and provides practical approaches in Table 1 covering energy, vitamin D, iron, and hydration; it reports no original data collection or primary analysis.

Limitations

  • Stated: there is a paucity of research on youth winter sport athletes, making evidence-based guidelines impossible; no data are available on macronutrient requirements in youth athletes, and no published doubly labeled water data exist across maturation stages in youth winter sport athletes. Further research is urgently required.
  • Evident: as a narrative mini-review without systematic search or quality appraisal, recommendations rely on extrapolation from adult and other athletic populations rather than direct evidence from youth winter sport athletes.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3389/fspor.2021.599118

Cites

83 of 83 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

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Figures

Figure 1 Sex, age, anthropometric characteristics and typical training schedule of a curler, ski mountaineer, and ice hockey player competing in the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games. The differences in anthropometric profile and training and competition loads between athletes likely result in differences in total energy expenditure and thus energy requirements. Data were kindly provided by the athletes and their coaches via a personal communication to V. Gremeaux.
Figure 1 Sex, age, anthropometric characteristics and typical training schedule of a curler, ski mountaineer, and ice hockey player competing in the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games. The differences in anthropometric profile and training and competition loads between athletes likely result in differences in total energy expenditure and thus energy requirements. Data were kindly provided by the athletes and their coaches via a personal communication to V. Gremeaux.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. 2004, Human Energy Requirements: Report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation: Rome, 17

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Metadata

Authors
Hannon, M. P., Flueck, J. L., Gremeaux, V., Place, N., Kayser, B., & Donnelly, C.
Affiliations
  • Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
  • University of Lausanne (CH)
Corresponding author
  • Hannon, Marcus P.
  • Donnelly, Chris
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2021-01-27
Volume
3
Pages
599118-599118
ISSN
2624-9367 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fspor.2021.599118
PMC
PMC7873521
OpenAlex
W3121860057
Cited by
23
References
83
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2
FWCI
0.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (acceptedVersion)
  • IRIS (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutrition and Health Studies
Keywords
youth athletes, winter sports, sports nutrition, energy availability, growth and maturation, micronutrient requirements, vitamin D, iron, dietary supplements, nutrition education, athlete development

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Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.