Sports Drinks
You can if you want, but...why bother?
Keep the water bottle handy during all sports activities for children. Don't let your child leave home without it.
Endurance athletes involved in physical activity for more than an hour and a half (including soccer players who are "in" the entire game) can produce up to three quarts of sweat per hour. That equals a loss of 6 pounds of body weight. A fluid loss of as little as 2-3 percent of body weight impairs performance. For a 150-pound person, a 2-3 percent fluid loss equates to 3 to 4 1/2 pounds of body weight. Fluid losses of 7-10 percent of body weight will lead to heat stroke and death.
Fluid replacement is a special concern for children involved in sports activities. Children have lower sweating capacity and they tolerate temperature extremes less efficiently than adults. Young children also produce more heat during exercise. They typically take two to three days longer to get used to exercise during warm weather.
1. Drinking fructose-based sports drinks (e.g., Powerade and Gatorade) is an expensive way to replace water lost during athletic events. Liquid ounce for liquid ounce, sports drinks are no better than water.
2. Many younger children don't care for the sweet-salty flavor of sports drinks. This goes a long way in counteracting any claims that people may drink more sports drink than water because it "tastes good."
3. Professional and college athletes drink water at their events, even though the water comes out of Gatorade jugs. (Notice what is in the Gatorade jug the next time the winning coach gets doused at the end of the game: ice and water.) At the National (Soccer) Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level II Theory Course, a Gatorade-sponsored video is/has been shown that repeats many times that water is the best way to replenish lost water. Gatorade is never mentioned throughout the entire video.
4. If you're impressed by such sports drink claims as "25% more carbohydrates" and "Replaces essential electrolytes", read on: Definitions: "Carbohydrates" means sugar. "Electrolytes" means salt. Sports drinks are just salty sugar water with artificial flavors and artificial colors.
5. The sugar content of sports drinks, carbonated sodas, and fruit drinks interferes with the efficient absorption of water in the body. Even pure fruit juices should be diluted with equal amounts of water if used for rehydration. On sports drink labels, look for carbohydrate contents of less than 20 grams per 1 cup (8 oz). Because of this, even dyed-in-the-wool sports drinkers will hedge by saying they either dilute the sports drink with water or they bring both water and sports drink to use simultaneously.