AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIETARY PRACTICES OF 9 TO 12 YEAR OLD PHYSICALLY ACTIVE CHILDREN AND THE NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR PARENTS

Abstract

Healthy eating through a balanced diet is fundamental to good health (Public Health England, 2016a). Active children are of interest given the energy demands of preparing for athletic performance or competition alongside normal growth and development. High energy expenditure, growth spurts and puberty, pressure to hit weight categories and disjointed fluid regulation are but a few factors that may affect their individual nutritional needs. There is minimal research into the requirements of pre-pubescent athletes (Petrie et al., 2004). It is unknown whether findings and recommendations in adult athletes can be extrapolated to their junior counterparts.
Active 9-12 year-old children (n=18) from the North-East of England completed a three-day estimated food diary. To contextualise findings, data was compared to national recommendations and to findings of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2016). Secondary outcomes compared nutrition to scores of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children, and to parental scores of the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (n=17).
Energy intake (7.2 MJ/day) was higher than children nationally but lower than recommended. This is principally driven by low intake of carbohydrates (233.5 g/day) and fat (61.5 g/day). Intake of protein was comparatively high (69.49 g/day) and total fibre (9.44 g/day) low. Intake of Vitamin C (112.04 mg/day), iron (12.56 mg/day) and calcium (732.43 mg/day) was sufficient and Vitamin D (2.46 µg/day) low. There were no significant relationships (p<0.05) between energy intake and physical activity level or nutrition knowledge score of parents. These findings suggest active 9-12 year olds have low energy intake and may be deficient in some macronutrients and micronutrients. The power of this study does not allow for statistical conclusions to be drawn but the implications of these findings may be important to understanding and nutritionally supporting this population.