Play Hard, Eat Right: A Parent's Guide to Sports Nutrition for Children

Whether it's training for a big track meet, rehearsing for tomorrow's dance recital, or playing a casual backyard game of catch, your child's athletic performance, development, and growth depend largely on eating the right foods. Now the largest and most prestigious organization of food and nutrition professionals in the world shows you how to help foster your child's development and maximize athletic performance.

The American Dietetic Association's Play Hard, Eat Right gives insight into your active 6- to 12-year-old's changing nutrition needs and provides the tools you need to help your child get a head start, including:

• The latest dietary guidelines for child athletes
• Tips on selecting nutritious fast food
• Important information on nutrition and your child's growth, body weight, and development
• Tips to help you provide adequate nutrients--carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals--for a child athlete
• Advice on meeting the fluid needs of children

Complete with a toll-free hotline number for answers to your nutrition questions, this essential and easy-to-use guide also shows what kids should eat before or after competition, on the road, and during training And tasty, kid-tested menus and snack ideas make the book an essential tool for every active family.

"Play Hard, Eat Right is clearly written, practical, and should go far to meet the needs and answer the important questions of parents of young athletes." -- Lyle J. Micheli, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Director, Division of Sports Medicine, The Children's Hospital, Boston

"Play Hard, Eat Right contains a wealth of information for any family whose children participate in athletics. This book will show parents how to help their young athletes find the winning edge in the critical but often neglected area of nutrition." -- Wes Hamilton, NFL Player, Minnesota Vikings, 1976-1985

"Three cheers for Play Hard, Eat Right, an easy-to-read book that highlights what parents need to know about feeding young athletes. Now parents finally have a 'how-to' resource that can abate their worries about whether their children are properly fueled for growth, sports, and busy days." -- Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., Director of Nutrition Services, SportsMedicine, Brookline, MA, and author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Handbook