There was a study that was performed that showed that kids that play sports tend to eat more junk food. This is quite an interesting study. You would think the complete opposite. You would think that kids that play sports would be more aware of the importance of eating healthy than their peers would. This study also shows that the kids that are enrolled in sports also tend to eat more fruits, vegetables and drink more milk than their peers. This is more along the lines that we would think of, but then why are they also the ones to be eating more junk food.
There could be many reasons why they would eat more than their peers. One possible reason could be that these kids tend to be on the road a lot, so therefore there is not always a lot of time for them to get the most nutritious meals. Another possible reason could be that the coaches like to use sweets as a sort of reward for their players. They like to pass out things like candy at the end of the game if the team performed well. When you are on the road with the team, sometimes the parents will send chips or candy for the team to share. A reason that unhealthy snacks are used more is because generally they are packaged in a manner that allows them to be taken on the go more easily.
This is a problem that more than just one person is going to have to deal with. Instead of providing unhealthy snacks that are shared with the team, they should replace it with a healthy one like perhaps an apple or something of that sort.
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Another reason could be that the parents don't realize that junk food is bad. They may think that because their kids are being so active that junk food wont hurt them. When I read this blog, I thought of that commercial with the kid in a french fry suit running around slower than the other kids, and one of the soccer moms says "well your kids are what they eat".
ReplyDeleteThis blog definitely caught my eye! You would never automatically assume that kids who play sports are linked to eating more junk food. I’d have to agree with you, it is definitely a pretty interesting study. As an athlete throughout most of my life, I could not argue with this study. I, personally, tend to eat a good amount of junk food, especially when I was more active. You are right, as an athlete, you tend to be on the road a lot for tournaments, games, etc. When you don’t have much time, food the fast way is better, which ultimately leads to junk food. It would be interesting to see the differences in athlete performance of athletes who consume more junk food than others. If the correlation of poor performance is linked to the consumption of junk food, then another blog about the potential benefits of providing athletes with healthier alternatives to junk food might be a good idea! I think a way to tackle this problem is to help coaches and parents find ways to pack healthier foods on-the-go. You’re right, most junk food is easy to transport, which is why it is important to stress ideas on healthier meals and snacks.
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