Parents Diet Question - edited version

[Ingymmom]

A 2-a-day weigh in seems extreme to me as well, but I think its great that this parent is aware and stays in touch with her dd about the weigh ins. They are training in a foreign country & are limited to what their club requires to train.

Back to the original post. This is really only about a 1 time weigh in for a 5 year old. Unless I missed something - I don't think the gym was suggesting it be on an everyday or even a regular basis. Just one time. I think the weigh in & BMI (no matter how inaccurate) are all a part of the education process that the nutritionist can offer.

 

[bpatient]

Weighing in before and after practice may well be done to ensure that the athletes are drinking enough water during practice.

 

[Billy]

Weighing in before and after practice may well be done to ensure that the athletes are drinking enough water during practice.

Seems like there would be other indicators of dehydration if that was the concern.

 

[bpatient]

Seems like there would be other indicators of dehydration if that was the concern.

According to the 2007 position statement of the American College of Sports Medicine linked below, the routine measurement of pre- and postexercise body weight is a simple and valid approach to estimate sweat losses and develop appropriate fluid replacement regimens:

http://www.acsm-msse.org/pt/pt-core/template-journal/msse/media/0207.pdf

 

[bogwoppit]

JBS and I talked and decided that this thread has a lot to offer to future posters/readers. I removed the controversial parts.

Feel free to continue the discussion, just remember that everyone is sharing so that we can all learn from each others experiences and education.

Bog

 

[gymgramma]

There is a section on nutrition in our team manual. It talks about good nutrition and what growing bodies need. It includes suggestions for pre-practice snacks as well as pre-meet meals and meet snacks.

 

[ahs]

Diet is such a scary word, bringing in a nutritionist can be wonderful for the gymnasts and parents. We need to educate parents and children on their BMI where it should be, and a proper diet for athletes. It seems that most responses to this post automatically assumed the gym was doing this to tell them gymnasts to lose weight, but this may not be the case. I feel this can be so positive, if the gym was weighing in the gymnasts and not informing the parents it would be a concern for me.

As far as weight checks go I feel there is no harm in weighing gymnasts, weight is just a number. If something is being said to the gymnasts regarding the weight is the issue. Not the weight itself. Regardless of how many times it happens. As was said in an earlier post elite athletes are weighed throughout workouts to monitor water intake and what they are eating throughout the workout to make sure their weight is maintained throughout the workout. Dehydration in an elite athlete can be hard to monitor because their body is in such great physical shape, they will feel the effects after the workout or the next day in their muscles.

 

[momofagymmie]

I'm also all for any kind of nutritional training. Our gym has had a nutritionist come and speak but it was for the parents to hear during training time. I think having the gymnasts hear it from some one else is always helpful. Our coach frequently talks about the choices the gymnasts could make in snacks that's about it. I'd hate to have a weigh in though. Even if it was done privately for each child. These girls are by nature competitive enough and don't need the added stress of their own body weights.

 

[gymgramma]

At our state clinics, a nutrition class is one of the things they rotate through

 

[jls1969]

Schools have actually considered BMI checks for students as well - obviously controversial. Here is an article.

http://www.ashaweb.org/pdfs/joshfinal_249_07nov27.pdf[/QUOTE]

I have yet to figure out how to quote...but I tried

Our school (public middle school) actually did weight, height and BMI along with flexibility and strength measurements with all of this going in the kids' permanent files. My dd, being a gymnast and all, sailed through the program. I found out later that the kids were weighed in a classroom behind a door, but certainly not privately. My dd was actually embarrassed b/c she weighed so little--62 lbs for an 11yo. The boys were amazed at the strength she had since she looks a bit scrawny. I guess the embarrassment comes on either side of the weight issue...

I was not aware all of the details in this program, but I agree that this is a sensitive age to be broadcasting issues that kids might be concerned with. We go for quarterly weight checks with our ped since dd never moves up on the growth chart and sometimes drops, and also for him to keep tabs on all of the time she is in the gym with regards to her health. I think nutrition is important--especially when you get up into the higher levels and train more seriously, but the weight thing---I agree--does not need to be done in the gym. If the coach has an issue with something---he/she could talk to the parent and then possibly suggest that a visit with a dr is in order. There should be all body types in the gym---just look at the Visa's--not one of those girls looks exactly the same. There is just no perfect type of body for the sport--although I would agree that certain types would lend themselves for an easier time training--desire, coaching and drive are equally important.

After all of the rambling, I agree that the scale should not be a mandatory thing in a gym--or for any sport that involves pre-teen and teen girls. The media pressure alone is hard enough to counter-balance. I do think it is different for boys--not as much social pressure at a crucial age. I think if safety is a concern, it should be addressed privately and WITH a parent present. I know there is a scale in our gym, but weigh-ins have not been an issue for us yet.