BY KATHLEEN WOOLF, PHD, RD
Water is one of the most important nutrients for swimmers and other athletes. And even though swimmers spend their workouts surrounded by water, they are at an increased risk of dehydration. Workouts conducted during high temperatures and humidity can further increase fluid needs. Both water and sports drinks are important components of training programs. Unlike water, a sports drink can provide fluids, fuel and electrolytes to your working muscles. Is one better than the other for a swimmer to use?
One big worry is that kids/teens are consuming too many sugar-sweetened beverages, including soda, fruit-flavored drinks and sports drinks. Rather than satisfying thirst with plain old water, many people are replenishing their fluids with these sugar-sweetened beverages. Soda and fruit-flavored drinks contain large amounts of sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup, potentially leading to weight gain and dental cavities. Although sports drinks don’t have as much sugar as soda, they do add additional sugar and other sweeteners to the day. Several states have banned the sale of soda from school vending machines and cafeterias and are now focusing their attention on sports drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages.
Some kids/teens are selecting sports drinks as a healthier alternative to soda. Sports drinks are being consumed throughout the day, not just during exercise. Kids who are engaging in ANY type of physical activity have been led to believe that they need sports drinks. Many young athletes could actually re-hydrate sufficiently with water.
Here are some tips to help stay hydrated with the best fluid sources:
- Use sports drinks appropriately during practice and competition. Re-hydrate with water during exercise/practice lasting less than 60 minutes. Use a sports drink when exercise/practice lasts more than an hour.
- Drink water before and after practices and competition.
- Because many kids/teens are not consuming enough water, drink water throughout the day and at mealtimes and snacks.
A water bottle may be the most important tool for success. Use it often to stay well hydrated both inside and outside of the pool.
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Sugary Sports Drinks Mistakenly Associated With Being Healthy, Say Researchers
ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2010) — Children who practice healthy lifestyle habits such as eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in physical activity may be negatively impacting their health because they tend to consume large amounts of flavored and sports beverages containing sugar, according to research at The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
"Children and parents associate these drinks with a healthy lifestyle despite their increased amount of sugar and lack of nutritional value," said Nalini Ranjit, Ph.D., principal investigator and assistant professor of behavioral sciences at the UTHealth School of Public Health. The study will be published in the October issue of Pediatrics.
Researchers examined the association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, unhealthy and healthy foods and physical activity levels of 8th and 11thgrade Texas students to determine the relationship between beverage consumption and other behaviors. Sugar-sweetened beverages are drinks that contain added caloric sweeteners such as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, including a large variety of carbonated and noncarbonated drinks but excluding 100 percent fruit juice.
Flavored or sports beverage drink consumption increased with levels of healthy food consumption and physical activity when compared to high soda consumption, which was associated with lower levels of these healthy behaviors.
"Sports drinks have been successfully marketed as beverages consistent with a healthy lifestyle, which has set them apart from sodas," said Ranjit, "However they have minimal fruit juice and contain unnecessary calories." Study results suggest there is a popular misperception of flavored and sports beverages being consistent with a healthy lifestyle, despite their sugary content.
Researchers in the study found that 28 percent of Texas children are consuming sugar-sweetened beverages three or more times a day. Among boys, the average daily consumption of soda increased from 8th to 11th grade while consumption of non-carbonated flavored and sports beverages remained steady. Soda consumption in girls remained steady from 8th to 11th grade and consumption of non-carbonated flavored and sports beverages declined substantially. Of the ethnicities of the children involved in the study, researchers found black children had lower soda consumption but considerably higher flavored and sports beverage consumption compared to Hispanic or white children.
Nearly 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 in the United States are in the 95 percentile of the BMI-for-age growth charts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is widespread consensus that the increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with high levels of obesity nationwide, according to the study.
"High levels of consumption of these beverages has the potential to increase weight gain," said Ranjit, "Drinking just one can of soda or other sugary beverage a day could lead to more than a 10-pound weight gain in a year." Nutritionists at UTHealth also caution that children should have no more than one glass of fruit juice, even 100 percent fruit juice, a day, because of the high calories. Sports drinks should be reserved only for extreme exercise. Otherwise, children should drink water to replenish lost fluids, they say, and whole fruit is a better nutritional choice than fruit juice.
Ranjit recommends adolescents and their parents educate themselves on the sugar content of flavored and sports beverages. "Consuming large amounts of flavored and sports beverages could undo the effects of all that exercise," said Ranjit. "Recognizing these misperceptions is important to obesity prevention efforts."
