Healthy Eating for Young Athletes: Advice for a 12-Year-Old Gymnast

Question
Hi I'm Alyssa
I'm 12 years old and I'm a gymnast. I've been doing gymnastics for quite a long time now and a lot of my friends are starting diets. What should I do?

Answer
Dear Alyssa, First off at your age, it's up to your doctor to decide what you should weigh and if you need to lose weight. If you start limiting your foods, you risk getting weaker and that might affect your gymnastic performance. If you do need to lose weight, your doctor will steer you in the right direction. Hope that helps, Laura Kraemer,Slimkids.com