Workshop 4: Bone Health in Youth Athletes: Our Duty of Care
This presentation will discuss two interrelated factors with respect to adolescent athletes: low energy availability (LEA) and low bone mineral density (BMD).
These factors are identified as issues in all youth athletes, with specific relevance to endurance and low-impact athletes (i.e. cyclists and swimmers).
The focus of this presentation is to upskill attendees with the knowledge to be able to identify the signs of LEA, understand bone-specific nutritional recommendations, and implement strategies to promote BMD in adolescent athletes.
It has been theorised that achieving a 10% higher peak bone mass in young adulthood could delay the onset of osteoporosis by 13 years and reduce the lifetime risk of fracture (including stress fractures) by 50%.
Despite the high energy requirements of young athletes, many will fail to match their desired energy or calorie intake with their training demands.
In addition to total energy intake, components of nutrition specific to bone, such as calcium, protein and vitamin D, need to be considered with respect to optimising bone health.
This interactive presentation will provide opportunities for questioning, sharing of case study information, and give you the chance to try out some targeted bone-building exercises.
The practical implications of bone health and nutrition in our youth and youth athletes are of obvious value for our coaches, teachers, and practitioners; however, they should also be viewed as our responsibility and window of opportunity for lifelong health and well-being.
Presenter: Dr Tracey Clissold
Tracey Clissold has 30 years’ academic experience in exercise science, sports nutrition and health.
She is currently a tutor at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology and completed a PhD at Auckland University of Technology on the effects of an osteogenic jump-landing programme on bone health in premenopausal women.
Her research is ongoing in this important area of Women’s health, with a phone App based on these research findings (OSTEO-GAINS), soon to be available at the App store.
Tracey is the mother of two children and has previously represented New Zealand in distance running, winning several national marathon titles and is a four-time Auckland Marathon winner.