6 Nutrition Issues Your Young Athlete May Be Struggling With - And What To Do About It

Hi there! I'm Rebekah, Registered Dietitian specializing in sport nutrition, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and Certified Diabetes Educator living and working in Ottawa, Ontario. I help atheltes of all ages and abilities reach their sport performance goals in ways that support a healthy relationship with food and their body. I focus on flexible and practical nutrition strategies that build a strong nutrition foundation.

Young athletes are under unique pressure - balancing training for their sport (or sports) with school, family, and social lives, all while trying to fuel their bodies properly. Despite growing awareness of sports nutrition, the availability of sport nutrition support and education for developing athletes in Canada remains very limited. Young athletes face significant challenges when it comes to eating and hydrating well and they shouldn't have to figure it out on their own! Here are six of the most common struggles I have seen young athletes encounter and some things you can do to help:

1. Pressure from Peers

Peer pressure plays a big role in how young athletes view food and nutrition. If teammates or friends are skipping meals, following fad diets, or constantly talking about weight and appearance, it can influence an athlete’s own eating habits - often leading to undereating or cutting out important food groups. Even seemingly harmless comments like “you’re eating that?” can make athletes second-guess their choices, even if those choices are what their bodies need for performance and recovery.

Remind your athletes that everyone's needs are unique to them and their body. To fuel properly for their body and their sport, they need to tune in to themselves. Connecting them with an expert in the field, a Sport Dietitian, can be an awesome way to help them figure out what works for them.

2. Social Media Influence

Social media is flooded with influencers and fitness personalities promoting unrealistic body standards and unproven nutrition advice. From detox teas to low-carb fads, young athletes are constantly exposed to messages that prioritize aesthetics over performance. Not to mention the ads or sponsored content from influencers encouraging different products or supplements. If I see one more ad for a certain green powder...

Many of these trends are not only unhelpful but can be harmful, especially for growing athletes who need a balance of carbs, proteins, fats, and micronutrients to support both development and sport.

Teach your athletes to think critically and ask questions about what they see. Remind them that social media is not the real world and that they are their own, unique person, with their own, unique needs. You can also do a social media filter with your athlete, unfollowing accounts that are unhelpful/harmful and doing some research to find and follow reputable educators or experts to help fill their feed with the right messaging.

3. Difficulty Eating Enough After Games or Practice

It’s very common for athletes to feel a reduced appetite after intense training or competition. This can be due to factors like heat, dehydration, adrenaline, or simply feeling too tired to eat. However, this is also one of the most critical times for refueling the body.

It's also common to see athletes who train early in the morning skip a pre-workout meal as well. Lack of appetite that early in the morning or nausea when they do eat can make it really difficult to get the energy in.

Skipping pre- or post-exercise meals or snacks can impact training performance, delay recovery, increase injury risk, and negatively impact performance in future sessions. Learning strategies to get in calories even when appetite is low is essential - whether through liquid nutrition, smaller portions, or easy-to-digest foods.

Training the stomach to accept food before early training sessions is a crucial skill for many athletes to ensure they can properly fuel for their training and competitions, no matter the time of day. Starting small with a couple bites of toast or a few sips of juice and gradually work your way to a full pre-workout snack. I like to remind my athletes that this is a good opportunity to practice your pre-race snacking!

4. Time Management and Busy Schedules

With school, practices, games, travel, homework, and even part-time jobs, many young athletes struggle to find time to plan and prepare nutritious meals. This often leads to skipped meals, fast food, or relying on whatever is quick and available. Proper nutrition doesn’t always require elaborate meal prep, but it does take some planning. Having simple, portable snacks on hand, prepping meals in advance, or using school lunch periods wisely can make a big difference.

5. Body Image Concerns

Athletes may feel pressure to look a certain way - lean, muscular, or fitting a sport-specific “ideal.” These concerns can sometimes lead to restrictive eating or overtraining. Body image struggles are not just a mental health issue; they can directly affect nutrition choices and performance. It’s important to shift the focus from aesthetics to function - recognizing that a strong, well-fueled body will perform better, recover faster, and be more resilient over time.

6. Inadequate Hydration

Many young athletes underestimate how much fluid their bodies lose during training and competition - especially in warm or humid environments. Dehydration, even mild, can lead to early fatigue, poor concentration, poor reaction time and a drop in performance. Some athletes forget to drink regularly, while others simply don't feel thirsty. Encouraging regular water breaks, monitoring urine color, and including electrolytes when needed can help support optimal hydration and performance.

Final Thoughts: Navigating nutrition and hydration as a young athlete isn’t always easy, especially with the external pressures and demands that come with sport. Coaches, parents, and professionals play a key role in helping athletes build positive relationships with food and their bodies. Supporting athletes with education, empathy, practical tools, and resources (such as access to sport nutrition experts) can empower them to fuel with confidence - both on and off the field.

Are you looking to improve your nutrition strategies for your next big race or competition? Are you feeling flat in training and wondering if your nutrition could be the culprit? Let's chat! Book your FREE DISCOVERY CALL today.

Are you an athlete, parent or coach? Do you think your athletes are properly fueling their bodies for training and competition? Chances, are, there is LOTS for them to learn! Leave it to the experts and check out BUILT TO PERFORM. A collaboration between two dietitians who are tired of seeing athletes go without sport nutrition education and support. We know the right fueling makes a BIG impact and we want all sports teams, clubs and organizations to have access to sport nutrition support. We provide sport nutrition workshops as well as trainng camp and competition day support. If you're interested in learning more, we'd love to see you visit our website!

Until next time - stay fueled!