When to use this
When a teen female athlete's training gets serious and the family asks what needs to change about food.
- The athlete is hitting puberty and a mileage increase in the same season.
- School-day misses — no breakfast, thin lunch, no snack — keep landing right before practice.
- Someone on staff is praising smaller portions as discipline.
Evidence sources
These references support the handout’s general education. Individual medical, supplement, laboratory, or injury questions should be handled by the appropriate qualified clinician.
- Smith JW, Holmes ME, McAllister MJ. (2021) Nutritional considerations for performance in young athletes. Nutrients, 13(12):4267.
- ISSN Position Stand (2023) Nutritional considerations for female athletes. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 20(1):2204066.
- Mountjoy M, Sundgot-Borgen JK, Burke LM, et al. (2023) IOC 2023 consensus statement on REDs. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57:1073-1098.
Where to go next
