Protein Requirements for Active Children

Nutritional requirements for dietary amino acids in children have traditionally been determined utilizing the nitrogen balance technique, which is prone to underestimating protein requirements. As a result, there is a need to re-evaluate recommendations in order to characterize how dietary amino acid needs may be modulated by physical activity in healthy, active children. The purpose of this study is to measure the protein requirement in children (boys and girls) using the IAAO technique in the presence of a variable intensity exercise stimulus. It is hypothesized that the present study will deem current amino acid requirements to be underestimates of appropriate amino acid requirements for this population.