Healthy weight practices for child and adolescent athletes

Sports and other physical activities are an important part of a healthy lifestyle for young people. Activity promotion is a critical part of health supervision visits in the primary care setting. However, participation in athletics during childhood may increase the risk of some types of unhealthy behaviors. Young athletes may be more likely to pursue weight loss or gain to improve performance in their sports. Some methods of weight loss and gain can put a young athlete’s health at risk. Primary care providers can incorporate discussion of how athletes can maintain healthy weight into health supervision visits.