Top Priorities for Teen Athlete Nutrition: grow & develop into a strong athlete
- Lindsey Cortes
- Mar 30
- 10 min read
A teenage female athlete is growing, changing, and working hard to achieve their athletic goals. Proper nutrition is incredibly important during this time – not just to fuel workouts but also to support development. Other than a baby growing from 0-2 years old, the teenage years are the second-most rapid time period of growth throughout life, placing a high demand on nutrition and self-care to develop bones, muscles, and hormones properly, as well as the brain! In this article, I’ll share four priorities for teen athlete nutrition: eating enough calories, hitting a high protein intake, and optimizing calcium and iron-rich foods.
The Importance of Eating Enough calories
Eating enough is an essential topic for any athlete. But “enough” is hard to define. Many people have taken USDA recommendations for an estimated 2,000 calories a day for the general population and assume that’s enough. However, it’s usually insufficient for athletes with a high energy output. On top of that, teenagers tend to believe that because they are “younger” or “smaller,” they don’t even need that much. However, this type of thinking is wrong and leads to many young female athletes underfueling. Combine that with a sudden awareness of body image, social pressures, peer influences around food and body, and exposure to diet culture, and many teenage female athletes simply are not eating enough to support their sport or their growth and development. This can lead to poor adaptation to training or support for muscles, less than ideal body composition, fatigue, delayed menarche, delayed development, or sub-optimal bone growth.
For females, part of puberty is promoting fat storage; this is expected and normal, and weight or fat gain should not indicate that they need to diet or reduce calories. Rather, teen female athletes should prioritize good nutrition, using the tips in this article, to support full development and trust that body size or weight changes are normal. In addition to fat, girls see a 7-8% bone mass gain each year throughout puberty, and by age 18, nearly 90% of their bone mineral content should be fully formed. Considering the importance of establishing bone development during teen years, I want to reiterate the importance of eating enough calories and avoiding restrictive or low-calorie diets that might put bone development at risk.
Without being able to quantify caloric needs adequately, some evidence shows teenage female athletes find health with a caloric intake range of 2200-4000 calories per day. However, during growth spurts, teens may need an additional 500 calories/day beyond their usual. For girls, puberty can be a 3-4 year process, meaning that nutrition needs may continue to increase year after year until puberty is fully complete. Keeping up with calories can be challenging. Teenage female athletes must realize the importance of eating complete meals, avoiding skipping meals, and eating before and after training so that they avoid under-fueling, which can lead to worsening performance, delays in development, or the deleterious effects of relative energy deficiency in sport (REDS).
For parents and coaches of teen athletes, remember that prioritizing health includes prioritizing adequate calories and frequency of meals so that growth and development are supported first. The only way to have a strong athlete is to have a healthy human!
Protein for Teen Athletes: Higher Than Adult Athletes!
Most sports nutritionists agree that athletes have a higher protein need than non-athletes to help grow and repair skeletal muscle, strengthen bone, and provide additional support for immune health. The International Society for Sports Nutrition offers guidelines for 1.4-2g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Interestingly, protein for teen athletes is recommended at 2g/kg/day – proving that, in many cases, teen athletes need more protein than many adult athletes do! Once again, this is because teens are not only placing a big demand on their body for physical recovery from sport, but a huge portion of protein is going towards building bone, muscle, connective tissue, and more! For a 100-pound female athlete, this is approximately 90g of protein per day, which could look like 3 meals of 20g of protein plus 2 snacks of 15g protein. For a 150-pound athlete, this is approximately 136g of protein per day, which could look like 4 meals of 30g of protein and an additional 15g protein snack.
Unfortunately, while the need for protein for teen athletes is high, most teenagers do not get nearly enough. Common habits of teenagers include skipping breakfast, packing a light lunch or school lunch with minimal protein, and eating carbohydrate-rich snacks like granola bars, crackers, or chips, all of which would make it very difficult to reach the expected protein goal! Also, although protein is found in many plant-based foods, a lot of protein comes from animal sources that often require cooking, a skill that many teens have not yet mastered. This means that teens are often reliant on a parent, guardian, or a restaurant to provide them with decent protein. So, although carbohydrates, fats, fruits, and vegetables are also very important in a teen athlete’s diet, protein seems to be the nutrient that teens struggle with the most.
To help optimize teen athlete nutrition, aim to include a protein source at every meal and snack. Below are some of my favorite ways to help teens reach their protein goal:
TIPS FOR INCREASING PROTEIN IN TEEN ATHELTE DIETS:
Make morning breakfast smoothies using ¾ cup of Greek yogurt (or a plant-based protein powder if non-dairy is needed) for at least 17g of protein.
Pre-make or buy store-bought breakfast egg burritos for 10-15g of protein, pending brand.
Hard-boiled eggs on the weekend can be had with a bagel for breakfast or as an after-school snack option.
Pack sandwiches for school lunch with 2oz deli meat and 1oz cheese on whole grain bread for an estimated 20g protein. Add sides of almonds, trail mix, hummus, whole grain crackers, or a packaged bar for an additional 5-10g protein.
You can also try meal prepping chicken & quinoa/rice “bowls” intended to be eaten cold for more than 20g of protein.
If you like your school lunch, go for it! Consider packing an extra snack with protein just in case the menu that day falls short on nutrition or your preferred taste.
Consider portable ultra-high pasteurized chocolate milk, soy milk, or protein shakes(available dairy and non-dairy options) to have immediately after practice.
Make sure a 3-5 ounce portion of meat is served at dinner.
For dinners on your own, consider packets of tuna or salmon (17g in 2.5oz), frozen chicken tenders, pre-cooked chicken, frozen fish filets, and chicken patties or burgers you can cook from frozen. It’s also nice to remember you can cook eggs for dinner, whether scrambled, fried, or made into an omelet!
Incorporate cow’s milk/yogurt or soy-based milk/yogurt into nighttime snacks for additional protein before bed! You could drink milk with cookies or make a yogurt-granola parfait.
CALCIUM TO HELP BONES DEVELOP
Along with a high demand for calories and protein, a few micronutrients are in higher demand during teenage years as well. Because of the massive growth in bone, calcium needs are at an all-time high during adolescent years. The RDA is 1300mg/day for teenagers, compared to just 1000mg/day for adults.
Most people know that dairy is a good source of calcium; however, without intention, just “eating dairy” might not cut it to reach this high of an amount. Even three full glasses of cow’s milk a day only accounts for about 900mg of calcium, which is only 69% of the goal calcium that a teen athlete needs! Further, many teens are lactose-intolerant or prefer to avoid dairy, which places teens at high risk for consuming inadequate calcium. Parents and guardians would be wise to educate their teens on the benefits of calcium easily found in dairy foods while also guiding them to the best possible non-dairy calcium sources. Fortunately, some non-dairy milks are fortified with more calcium than cow’s milk, which is a huge benefit considering the other non-dairy food sources are in much smaller quantities. Use the food list below to make an intentional effort to include high-calcium foods in teen athletes’ diets and begin reading labels for calcium amounts to maximize intake.
High-Calcium Food List:
Dairy
8oz Cows Milk - 300mg
5oz container of Yogurt- 300mg
5oz container of Greek Yogurt- 200mg
1oz Cheese, block or slice- 200mg
2 Tbsp Shredded Parmesan Cheese- 330mg
1/2 cup Ricotta- 330mg
1/2 cup Cottage Cheese- 130mg
1 cup Hot cocoa beverage- 285mg
1/2 cup ice cream- 80-110mg
1 Tbsp cream cheese- 65mg
1 scoop (20-25g protein) whey protein powder- 150mg
Non-Dairy Milks/Yogurts
Green Vegetables
Beans/Nuts/Seeds
Seafood
Fortified Foods
Keep in mind, that calcium cannot be properly abosrbed without the assitance of vitamin D. Currently the RDA for vitamin D during teen years is the same as during adulthood, at 600 IU/day, however it’s wise to monitor vitamin D intake, encourage safe sun-expsoure, and consider vitamin D testing in bloodwork once a year for active teen-athletes to determine if they may need supplementation. Very few foods contain ample vitamin D, fortified milk beverages and salmon are some of the most commonly consumed sources.
IRON FOR INCREASED ENERGY IN SPORTS & GROWTH
Female athletes developing through puberty gradually increase their iron needs to support growth, increased blood volume, and to offset losses from menstruation. During childhood, only 8mg of iron per day is needed, but that increases to 15mg/day during adolescence, and eventually 18mg/day around age 18 or when puberty is complete. It can be challenging for teen female athletes to keep up with their increasing iron needs, especially if they are experiencing heavy menstrual cycles. Meat is a great source of iron, and once again, many teen athletes struggle to eat meat or are interested in vegetarian or plant-based diets, which might lead to low iron or anemia. Although it is possible to get iron from plant-based food, it may be more difficult and is not absorbed as well as animal-sourced iron. Even still, eating meat isn’t a shoe-in for optimized iron. To put this in perspective, 18mg is found in 12 ounces of red meat, and very few teen athletes are found snacking on a 12-ounce ribeye!
Because anemia and low iron status are so common in teen female athletes, they should make an intentional effort to consume iron-rich foods daily. One of the first signs of low iron status is fatigue: struggling to keep up at practice or even to get out of bed for school in the morning! Although teens can be tired for many reasons, they should consider yearly bloodwork with their doctor to check iron status and assess stored ferritin, transferrin, total iron binding capacity, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. Use the food lists below to help teen female athletes eat enough iron!
High Iron Food List:
Red Meat (per 3 oz serving)
Skirt Steak- 4.5mg
Chuck Roast- 2.5mg
Lean Ground Beef (including burgers or meatballs)- 2.5 - 4.9mg
Kielbasa Sausage- 3.4mg
Beef Tenderloin Steak- 3.1mg
T-bone Steak- 3mg
Ground Bison- 2.7mg
Beef chuck pot roast- 2.5mg
Lamb Shoulder Roast- 2.3mg
Beef Short Ribs- 2 mg
Panfried Beef Hamburger- 2mg
Other Meat (per 3oz serving)
Fish & Shellfish (per 3oz serving)
Fortified Cereals
Dried Fruits (per 1/2 cup serving)
Beans (per 1/2 cup serving)
Green Vegetables (per 1 cup cooked)
Other Foods
ALLOW TEENS TO MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD CHOICES:
By now, you should understand that teen athlete nutrition impacts not just performance but growth and development as well. The importance of eating high protein, calcium, and iron-rich foods throughout multiple meals and snacks daily cannot be understated. Unfortunately, one of the most important times of their life for nutrition to impact them is also a time when teens don’t want to listen to mom and dad tell them to “eat their veggies” anymore!
In addition to physical growth, teenage years are full of social growth, self-development, self-identity, and autonomy. It is important for teens to make nutrition choices without parental influence or involvemen and to include foods they can eat and enjoy with friends or during social outings. Creating autonomy and independence around food will also help ease the transition into college or living away from home. Parents might feel frustrated at times when they see their child is not reaching their nutrition goals as they grab a slice of pizza at a party or an after-school milkshake. But keep in mind that these choices to make their own fueling decisions are key to their development as well.
In fact, if a teen is avoiding some of these foods or food experiences, it could even be a red flag for concern. The mean onset for eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and other specified eating disorders, is 15-19 years old. Feeling judgements or pressures about body image, fears about food quality and health, desires for weight loss, and nutrition misinformation can contribute to the avoidance of foods high in fat, sugar, or calories and avoidance of eating in social settings. Eating disorders have serious effects on both physical and mental health, and early intervention working with a dietitian and psychologist or mental health professional can help.
As a parent or guardian, guide your teen athlete to make high-quality nutrition choices for optimized energy, protein, calcium, and iron most of the time while still allowing opportunities for them to make their own fueling choices and eat foods that don’t always meet the standard if desired.
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