Written by Nutritionist, Tamara Walker. Email a Nutritionist today via the educational support page. 

Summer holidays remove the structure of the school day, replacing it with flexible schedules, travel, training camps and social activities. For young athletes, this change is often positive for recovery and wellbeing, but it also disrupts the consistent eating patterns that normally support growth and performance.

Even when training continues, irregular meal timing and reduced structure can lead to unintentional under fuelling. This is important because young athletes have high and ongoing energy needs due to growth, maturation and sport participation [1,2].

The main challenge in summer is not food quality, but consistency of fuelling across the day.

1. Summer nutrition is a structure issue, not a food issue

During school terms, meals are anchored around predictable routines. In summer, those anchors disappear and eating becomes more reactive to the day.

Common changes include:

• Late waking and missed breakfast

• Long gaps between meals

• Frequent grazing instead of structured eating

• Increased reliance on convenience foods during travel or social time

Adolescent athletes are particularly sensitive to these changes because energy requirements remain high even when structure decreases [2]. Research shows that young athletes often struggle to meet energy needs when routines are disrupted, particularly during busy training or competitive periods [1].

The key issue is not what foods are available, but whether energy intake matches energy expenditure consistently across the day.

2. Why breakfast becomes a hidden performance gap

One of the most common summer changes is the loss of breakfast as a structured meal.

A late wake up often leads to either skipping breakfast or replacing it with small, low energy snacks. This creates a prolonged low fuel period early in the day.

For youth athletes, this can affect:

• Energy availability for morning activity

• Concentration and mood regulation

• Total daily energy intake

• Training quality later in the day

Low energy availability, even when unintentional, can negatively affect adaptation, recovery and growth in adolescent athletes [2,3].

3. Meals versus snacks where summer eating often breaks down

Summer eating patterns often shift towards grazing and frequent snacking due to travel, leisure activities and reduced routine.

Snacks such as ice cream, crisps, pastries and convenience foods are a normal part of summer eating. However, they do not replace the nutritional role of full meals, which provide sustained energy, protein and micronutrients.

A useful distinction:

• Snacks between meals support energy balance

• Snacks replacing meals increase risk of low total intake

Studies in adolescent athletes show that irregular eating patterns are associated with reduced nutrient adequacy and inconsistent energy intake [1]. Over time, this may impair recovery and training adaptation.

4. Training continues but fuelling often does not match it

Many young athletes remain highly active during summer through camps, tournaments, informal sport, swimming, cycling and outdoor play.

However, this activity is often less structured than school term training, which can lead to:

• Training without planned fuelling

• Delayed recovery nutrition

• Reliance on snacks instead of meals after exercise

• Underestimation of daily energy needs

When energy intake does not match activity, performance and recovery can be affected, particularly in growing athletes [2,4].

5. Seasonal eating adapting behaviour not restricting food

Seasonality in youth sport is not just about produce availability. It is also about behavioural changes in eating patterns.

Summer typically increases:

• Eating outside the home

• Social meals such as barbecues, holidays and day trips

• Irregular timing of meals

• Spontaneous physical activity

Instead of trying to enforce rigid structure, effective summer nutrition focuses on maintaining key anchors in the day such as the first meal and post activity eating.

Adolescent athletes benefit most from consistent energy availability rather than perfect meal timing [2].

6. Practical approach keeping energy availability steady

Rather than focusing on rigid meal rules, young athletes benefit from simple behavioural strategies that maintain fuelling consistency.

Key principles include:

• Do not delay or skip the first substantial meal of the day

• Avoid long gaps without meaningful food intake

• Prioritise fuelling around training and activity

• Treat recovery eating as essential rather than optional

This approach helps ensure that energy intake aligns with fluctuating summer activity levels.

7. Making summer eating work in real life

Summer offers more flexibility, which can be an advantage when used strategically.

Social meals, holidays and travel do not need to disrupt nutrition if the overall pattern remains consistent. A flexible structure allows athletes to:

• Maintain core daily meals

• Use snacks to support activity rather than replace meals

• Adjust intake based on training load and activity levels

Sports nutrition research emphasises that overall energy balance and consistency across the day are more important than strict timing rules [2,4].

8. Common summer nutrition pitfalls

Several predictable patterns can affect youth athletes during holidays:

• Repeatedly delaying the first meal of the day

• Using snacks instead of structured meals

• Underestimating energy needs from informal activity

• Assuming evening meals compensate for missed daytime intake

• Treating summer as a break from fuelling needs

These behaviours can gradually reduce total energy availability if sustained [3].

Takeaway message

Summer holidays change routine, not nutritional requirements.

Young athletes continue to grow, train and adapt during this period, meaning consistent energy intake remains essential. The main challenge is not food quality, but maintaining structure in a less predictable environment.

A successful approach focuses on:

• Regular daily fuelling

• Flexible meal timing

• Planned support around activity

• Avoiding long gaps without eating

Good summer nutrition is about consistency within flexibility, not restriction or perfection.

Quick checklist for parents and athletes

• Maintain regular daily eating structure where possible

• Do not skip the first meal of the day

• Avoid long gaps between meals

• Match food intake to activity levels

• Use snacks to support rather than replace meals

• Prioritise recovery nutrition after training

• Focus on consistency over perfection

This article was written by Nutritionist Tam. Youth Sport Nutrition offers 1-2-1 sessions specifically for young athletes and their families, including a free initial consultation call. You can book a 1-2-1 today.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide general information about nutrition for youth athletes and is not meant to replace professional dietary advice or individual nutritional counselling. Every child's nutritional needs can vary due to factors such as age, size, physical activity level, and medical conditions. We strongly recommend consulting with a registered dietitian or a healthcare provider before making changes to your child's diet, such as adding food powders. YSN and the author of this article do not take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, dietary modification, action, or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this article.

References

[1] Noll M, de Mendonça CR, Rosa LPS, et al. Determinants of eating patterns and nutrient intake among adolescent athletes: a systematic review. Nutrition Journal. 2017;16:46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-017-0267-0

[2] Desbrow B. Youth athlete development and nutrition. Sports Medicine. 2021;51:1 to 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01534-6

[3] Mountjoy M, Sundgot Borgen J, Burke L, et al. International Olympic Committee consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;52(11):687 to 697. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099193

[4] Lehmann L, Giacomoni M, Del Sordo G, et al. Energy and macronutrient intakes in young athletes systematic review and meta analysis. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2024;45(1):3 to 16. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2108-5691

[5] Purcell LK. Sport nutrition for young athletes. Paediatrics and Child Health. 2013;18(4):200 to 202. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3805623/

[6] Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. Nutrition and athletic performance. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2016;116(3):501 to 528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.12.006

[7] Burke LM, Hawley JA, Wong SHS, Jeukendrup AE. Carbohydrates for training and competition. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2011;29 Suppl 1:S17 to S27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.585473