Health experts agree that proper fluid intake during exercisecan reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. Butparents should be mindful of what their children are drinking.
As children’s activity level increases, so doesloss of essential body fluids. Even when childrenare thirsty, they might not drink enough because the taste ofplain water can be unappealing. As a result, parentsmay turn to flavored sports drinks.
However, some sport drinks or energy enhancers may do more harmthan good because they contain unhealthy amountsof sugar and caffeine.
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers the following adviceon keeping kids hydrated:
Children should drink before, during and after exercise. Makesure your child pauses during exercise toget a drink every 15-20 minutes.
Water should be the beverageof choice because it is the mainbody fluid initially lost during exercise.If your child finds plainwater unappetizing, try adding small amountsof juice or lemon slices to thewater.
Children exercisingin hot, humid conditions for more than anhour will lose electrolytes (salts such assodium, potassiumand chloride) that can’t be replacedby plain water. Therefore, they should drinksmall amounts (around5 ounces) of electrolyte-replacingfluids,such as juice mixed with water or sportsdrinks, every 15 to 20 minutes. Sports drinks, however,areunnecessary for children who exerciselessthan three hours in normal weather conditions.
Sports drinks containing fructose or carbohydrate concentrationsgreater than 8% should be avoided to reducethe risk of weight gain and dental and gastrointestinalproblems.
Energy drinks are not the same as sports drinks.Traditionalsports drinks contain electrolytes,a limitedamount of sugar and no caffeine. Most energy drinks, on the other hand, contain large amountsof sugarand caffeine that don’t makeup forlost electrolytes. Energy drinks can increase blood pressure and cause headaches and more frequenturination,which leads to further dehydration.
