Hydration: Sports Drinks or Water?

Sports Drinks Help Kids Stay Hydrated Better Than Water

A number of studies in recent years have shown that sports drinks re-hydrate kids who are active in the heat better than water. Given a choice, kids will drink a lot more of a sports drink than of a glass of water.

An oft-cited 1999 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology reported that drinking a properly formulated sports drink with carbohydrates and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) increased fluid intake by nearly one-third (32%) compared to water. Because they taste better than water, sports drinks encouraged kids to keep drinking until their fluid needs were met. Another study, from 2003, reported that when drinking water, kids will drink only about 50 percent of what they need. A sports drink that contains flavor and electrolytes encourages them to drink 90 percent more than water to stay better hydrated."

Sports Drinks Replace Electrolytes

Electrolytes are chemicals in the body fluids that result from the breakdown of salts,

including sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride, which the body needs to maintain proper amounts of water inside cells, nerve conductivity, and allow for proper response by the cells to outside stimuli.

Electrolyte deficits, particularly sodium, can cause lethargy, muscle cramping, and mental confusion, and even seizures. A properly formulated sports drink containing salts, particularly sodium, replaces electrolytes that active children lose through sweat and, because of their taste, promote re-hydration by maintaining thirst and encourage fluid intake.

Kids Are More Prone To Dehydration

Kids are more susceptible to heat illnesses than adults when active in hot weather because they:

• Sweat at a lower rate (both in absolute terms and per sweat gland)

• Tolerate temperature extremes less efficiently

• Get hotter during exercise

• Have more skin surface for their body weight (that results in excessive heat gain in extreme heat and heat loss in extreme cold)

• Have hearts that pump less blood; and

• Adjust more slowly to exercising in the heat (a child may require five or six sessions to achieve the same degree of acclimatization acquired by an adult in two or three sessions in the same environment).

• Because kids will voluntarily drink more of a sports drink compared to drinking plain water, giving your child a sports drink to consume before, during and after sports significantly reduces the risk of dehydration, which can lead to heat illnesses.

Kids Are Often Dehydrated

Three University of Connecticut studies recently presented to the American College of Sports Medicine found that between 50 and 75 percent of boys and girls at sports camps were significantly dehydrated. Twenty-five to 30 percent of the campers studied showed signs of serious dehydration, putting them at increased risk of heat-related illnesses.

The campers were dehydrated despite the availability of water and sports drinks, frequent breaks and coaches' encouragement to stay hydrated.

Education And Hydration Strategies Are Key

A survey commissioned by the National Safe Kids Campaign revealed that more than three out of four parents of active kids aged 8-14 do not know the steps they should take to help prevent dehydration in their children.

The survey and studies show the importance for parents of not only educating their children about the importance of hydration but of having and implementing a hydration strategy utilizing the consumption of sports drinks before, during and after sports to eliminate the risks of dehydration and heat illnesses.