--- title: A balanced plate for a kid who plays sport — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «A balanced plate for a kid who plays sport», a lesson of the medicine course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Sporty kids don't need a special diet: the UK Eatwell Guide shows one plate for everybody, with about a third fruit and veg, j --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Medicine](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/) / A balanced plate for a kid who plays s… # A balanced plate for a kid who plays sport Lesson 54 of the medicine course of Mova's primary school: 16 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/0/) — Sporty kids don't need a special diet: the UK Eatwell Guide shows one plate for everybody, with about a third fruit and veg, just over a third starchy food like pasta, rice, potatoes and bread, and the rest protein, dairy and a little oil. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/2/) — No single food has everything, so eating only pasta like Jade in Belfast misses whole groups, and «eat the rainbow» means peppers, carrots, berries and spinach, not Skittles. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/4/) — The Eatwell Guide is the UK picture of a balanced diet, and it is the same for sporty and non-sporty children. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/5/) — In the Eatwell Guide about a third of the plate is fruit and veg and just over a third is starchy food, so together they make up most of it. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/6/) — The other parts are protein foods such as beans, eggs, fish and meat, dairy or alternatives, and small amounts of unsaturated oils; sweets and fizzy drinks are not one of the main groups. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/7/) — Starchy food is great fuel, but the body also needs protein, fruit and veg, dairy and some fats, because no single food has everything. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/8/) — UK advice is at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, and a child's portion is roughly what fits in their hand. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/9/) — Fruit and veg of different colours give different vitamins and minerals, so eating many colours gives a good mix. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/10/) — Exercise uses energy, but sugar still feeds the germs on teeth that cause decay, so being sporty doesn't protect teeth. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/11/) — UK advice for children aged 7 to 10 is no more than about 24 g of free sugars a day, about 6 sugar cubes. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/12/) — A study published in 2015 reported that about 4 in 10 players it checked at professional UK football clubs had tooth decay, and frequent sugary sports drinks, gels and bars were thought to be part of the reason. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/13/) — Each time sugar touches the teeth, acid attacks them for a while, so sweets drip-fed through training mean many attacks; with a meal in one go is kinder to teeth. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/14/) — Protein helps muscles grow and repair, and a child of 7 to 10 needs about 28 g a day, which ordinary meals easily give; extra isn't stored as muscle. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/15/) — A big chocolate bar before a match can give a quick lift then a slump and sit uneasily in the stomach; toast, a banana or cereal give steadier energy. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/16/) — Growing, sporty children need regular meals, and skipping meals leaves them tired, moody and slower and harms growth. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/54-a-balanced-plate-for-a-kid-who-plays-sport/17/) — In Wales «tidy» means good or great, and in Northern Ireland «wee» means small. - ← previous: [Breakfast before a match and food after](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/53-breakfast-before-a-match-and-food-after/) - next →: [Food myths and fads](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/55-food-myths-and-fads/) - ↑ back to [Medicine](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/)