Is It Safe For Teens to Take Protein Supplements?

Many youngsters are consuming protein dietary supplements like shakes and powders, in line with a brand new survey. 

Researchers from the College of Michigan Well being’s C.S. Mott Youngsters’s Hospital surveyed practically 1,000 adults with youngsters aged 13 to 17 nationwide to uncover habits round protein consumption.

The outcomes revealed that two in 5, or 41%, of fogeys had a toddler who consumed protein supplements over the previous 12 months. Dietary supplements included protein bars (29%), shakes (23%), or powder (15%).

A couple of quarter of the mother and father whose youngsters had protein dietary supplements inside the 12 months—largely mother and father of boys—mentioned their little one consumes a protein complement every day or virtually each day.

Whereas protein appears to be having a second, with one estimate discovering that 71% of American adults try to get extra of it of their diets, it might sound stunning that youngsters are looking for it out in excessive numbers, too.

So what’s behind the pattern? And is it wholesome for teenagers to chow down on protein shakes and powders? Right here’s what specialists needed to say.

Usually talking, youngsters affiliate protein with look, efficiency, and total well being. However the survey revealed that explanation why youngsters search out protein are likely to fall alongside gender strains.

As an illustration, about 55% of boys’ mother and father reported their teenagers used dietary supplements to construct muscle or enhance their sports activities efficiency. Nonetheless, solely 18% and 36% of ladies’ mother and father mentioned their little one consumed them to construct muscle and improve athletic efficiency.

Thirty-four % of fogeys of ladies, nevertheless, mentioned their youngsters used dietary supplements as meal replacements once they had been too busy to eat, whereas solely 18% of fogeys of boys cited that cause. Extra mother and father of ladies additionally mentioned their youngsters consumed dietary supplements to assist them shed some pounds or as a result of they thought consuming protein dietary supplements was a part of a nutritious diet. 

Teenagers could also be turning to protein bars, shakes, or powders to perform these targets as a result of their mother and father do the identical, specialists mentioned.

“Protein dietary supplements have grown in reputation, particularly during the last three a long time,” Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, a senior medical dietitian at UCLA Well being, instructed Well being. “I bear in mind within the early 2000s there have been some protein dietary supplements on the market that primarily athletes took, however now they’re just about in all places.”

Outcomes from the Worldwide Meals Info Council’s 2024 Meals & Well being Survey discovered that about half of the three,000 adults polled adopted a specific food regimen—with a high-protein diet being one of the crucial well-liked. The share of American adults making an attempt to extend their protein consumption is 71% this 12 months, up from 67% in 2023 to 58% in 2022.

Given protein’s reputation amongst adults, it is not stunning that 44% of fogeys surveyed within the Mott ballot mentioned they or one other member of the family inspired their teenager to eat protein dietary supplements, and 26% mentioned {that a} coach or coach inspired it. Over half of fogeys mentioned a high-protein food regimen is wholesome for his or her teen. 

One other affect is social media platforms like TikTok, the place health and diet influencers generally encourage their followers to eat quantities of protein that far exceed the really helpful allowances. 

About one in 10 mother and father cited social media as liable for their teenagers eager to eat extra protein, Sarah J. Clark, MPH, co-director of the C.S. Mott Youngsters’s Hospital Nationwide Ballot on Youngsters’s Well being, instructed Well being. “In actuality, it’s most likely increased.”

Protein is a macronutrient—or a nutrient we want it in giant quantities—that helps construct muscle and bone and helps immune operate, cell restore, and extra. 

Whereas particular every day protein necessities depend upon components corresponding to top, weight, and exercise stage, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that girls and boys aged 11 to 14 eat half a gram of protein per pound of physique weight every day. Meaning an adolescent weighing about 110 kilos would want about 50 grams of protein every day—or about 20 grams greater than a cheeseburger with a 4-ounce beef patty. The requirement drops to barely much less for older teenagers.

Clark thinks “mother and father are turning to protein bars and shakes beneath the idea they’re a wholesome choice.” There are “occasions when breakfast isn’t within the playing cards or different occasions the place they’re going from exercise to exercise to exercise.”

Nonetheless, dietary supplements could not at all times be your best option regardless of their nutritious status. Protein bars’ sugar content material can rival that of sweet bars, and a few protein dietary supplements could include natural substances, caffeine, or different stimulants, Clark mentioned.

Many youngsters can meet their every day protein requirement by means of their common food regimen. Meals corresponding to meat, hen, reduced-fat milk, yogurt, and peanut butter are all good sources of protein and in addition present a wealthy number of nutritional vitamins and minerals. 

For most youngsters, there is not any good cause to eat a complement only for the added protein, Clark defined. “Giving your physique more protein than it can use isn’t going to assist,” she mentioned. “It’s not going to make you quicker or stronger or higher at your sport. It’s simply going to get transformed into fats.”

Nonetheless, she acknowledged that dietary supplements could also be useful for some teenagers, corresponding to those that are underweight or overly lively. “Protein dietary supplements could also be acceptable for teenagers who often have interaction in vigorous bodily exercise—suppose highschool swimmers which have two practices per day, soccer gamers who elevate weights a number of occasions per week, or triathletes,” Clark mentioned. “For these teenagers, including protein powder to a smoothie or glass of chocolate milk might help with muscle restoration.”

Getting enough protein by means of an everyday food regimen may also be too costly for some households, Clark added, and dietary supplements might help fill within the gaps.

Finally, there’s no blanket rule that claims youngsters ought to keep away from protein dietary supplements, Clark mentioned, and it’s greatest to seek the advice of a pediatrician to find out in the event that they’re mandatory. Nonetheless, it’s necessary to acknowledge that “you’ll be able to accomplish quite a bit by means of good dietary sources.”