A multidisciplinary handbook to recognize and prevent discomfort in adolescent athletes and competitive athletes
There are sports in which the weight-height ratio can be linked to the quality of performance more than others. Let’s talk for example about gymnastics, in its various forms, a discipline in which, moreover, competitiveness arrives very early, even in pre-pubescent age, with inevitable risks. But is it possible to combine medals and health? The answer yes. To answer the doubts of the families of young athletes, supporting all those who have to deal with a young person and/or a young athlete, the Milan Metropolitan Observatory with University of Milan Bicocca and Panathlon Milan have developed a short, agile and usable manual, to help identify the warning signs of psychophysical distress, suggest strategies to respond to the needs of very young athletes and indicate a series of good practices, in training as well as at the table, for living these sports at their best.
Know to prevent. Handbook of good practices for the health of adolescent athletes, this is the title of the manual, conceived and coordinated by Carla De Albertis, responsible for Culture and Social Affairs of the Metropolitan Observatory, the result of interdisciplinary scientific work begun at the Bicocca University with the conference, Medals and health must coexist, organized by the Observatory and Panathlon with the Milanese university and which also saw the intervention of Gherardo Tecchi, president of the Italian Gymnastics Federation. After a general introduction on risky sports and the legal framework, we talk about training in developmental age, with the indication of the risks and the alarm bells that must suggest a relaxation of the rhythms, of nutrition with worrying signals such as the refusal to eat, the phobia for certain foods or the phobia of weighing oneself and practical indications for composing a healthy dish, up to the risk of burnout. With this handbook we wanted to provide a scientific but easy-to-understand manual to protect the health of adolescent athletes and competitive athletes – explains Carla De Albertis – We have summarized good practices, risks that can be encountered and alarm bells on which to act immediately for practicing these wonderful sports safely.
Among the experts who spoke at the conference that kicked off this work, there are Antonio Robecchi Majnardi, Director of the Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine Unit – Auxologico Mos Bianchi, Patrizia Steca, of the Department of Psychology of the Bicocca University, Elisabetta Biffi, pedagogist of the Bicocca Training Department, the nutritionist Annalisa Terenzio and Francesca Maisano, clinical psychologist-psychotherapist Asst Fatebenefratelli Sacco. On the power front, the manual highlights how a pre-pubertal athlete must have the same diet as their peers with some care regarding the caloric intake, which must be greater, and the quantity of water, without demonizing carbohydrates in favor of proteins and taking supplements only under medical supervision. The strong link between gymnastics and weight can become an obsession and a disorder and this is why we need to insist on global well-being when talking about teenagers at the table.
Training should be challenging but not stressful when we’re talking about growing bodies and also take into account the psychological factor, paying attention with some precautions such as the importance of making the kids talk and listen who are, before being athletes, young future women and men, the importance of giving psychological training to the operators and not Never forget that competition is also fun. conference the testimony of Jenny Santi who brought her experience as the mother of a young rhythmic competitor and made an appeal for the collaboration of operators and institutions to support families. The handbook, now available for free in a browsable version on the Osservatorio website, at www.observatorio.milano.it/medaglie, was adopted by the institutions and can count on the contributions of Lara Magoni, Undersecretary for Sport of the Lombardy Region, Lucia Visconti Parisio, delegate for Sport of Bicocca, Claudia Giordani, vice president of CONI, Camillo De Milato, president of Metropolitan Observatory, Filippo Grassia , president of Panathlon Milan, Diana De Marchi, delegated councilor for Labor Policies, Social Policies and Equal Opportunities. In addition to the possibility of downloading it from the site, 1000 copies have been printed which will be distributed to the Municipalities, libraries and sports centers of Milan and the Province.
October 27, 2023 (modified October 27, 2023 | 10:58)
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