The
period of transition from childhood to adulthood is called adolescence with
accelerated physical, biochemical and emotional development. During
adolescence, the influences of eating habit are numerous. The growing
independence of adolescents, increased participation in social life and a
generally busy schedule of activities have a great impact on food intake.
Diet of
teenagers is bizarre and unbalanced. The concern about the size, shape of the
body, sexual development, vitality, skin and attractiveness are great and there
is a sense of freedom to make their own decisions which is reflected in their
choices of foods. Further, family conflicts and emotional problems may arise
due to feeling of social inadequacy or pressures of school and college.
Therefore, Irregular meal times and snacking in between meals becomes a common
practice.
Choices
of food are important. Teenagers are vulnerable to the influences of
advertising messages related to food. Most of the foods are empty calories and
lack other nutrients. Ease of getting readymade foods at fast food outlets and
food stores make adolescents eat out more often
Breakfast: The most important meal of the day
Breakfast
is frequently neglected and omitted more often by teenagers. Eating first thing
in the morning benefits your thinking power and helps maintain a healthy body
weight. However many people skip it, seeing it as a way to cut calories and
lose weight. You could not do anything worse. Eating at breakfast time helps to
stop you snacking on high calorie bars and confectionery at break time and so,
can help keep the total calorie bill down.
Nutrition for teenage girls:
Just as
girls start to notice their body shape, nature takes a hand in seemingly making
things more difficult. At around nine years of age, girls begin to catch up
weight wise with boys and by 13 they probably weigh a bit more than a boy of
the same age.
As they
mature, during the teenage years, they also gain more fat than boys. This is
simply the way they are made and it makes shedding puppy fat very difficult.
Adolescent girls with personal tensions concerning figure control cause them to
follow unwise, self imposed crash diets for weight loss. Self starvation may
result in complex and far reaching eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and
bulimia.
Calcium and Iron Requirment:
As a
teenager, girls need to pay special attention to calcium and iron. Restrained
eating practices, such as avoiding milk is widely reported by teenage girls and
can have a detrimental effect on bone growth. From the ages of 13-17 girls will
gain as much as 90% of their bone density.
Calcium: Milk,
cheese and yoghurt are the best sources of calcium and the need for these foods
is higher than at any other time (except pregnancy when it is the same as it is
for you now). Teenage girls need the equivalent of a 400 ml of ordinary milk
each day. This can be made up of milk on breakfast cereal, and milk in milkshakes
or smoothies, curds, cottage cheese etc. Calcium does not have to come from
milk alone as cheese, yoghurt, drumsticks, fish, broccoli, spinach also contain
calcium. A glass of milk, a bowl of yoghurt and 30 gms of cheese, each have a
similar amount of calcium. You need any five of these each day to maximize your
chances of reaching your genetic potential.
Iron: Almost a
third of teenage girls have low iron intake. Anemia is prevalent among
adolescents, especially girls as there is additional iron loss due to
menstruation which becomes significant from 13 years onwards. Iron is found in
meats and also found in plant foods like green leafy vegetables, soyabean, and
jaggery but one need to combine these with vitamin C rich foods, to increase
its absorption.
Puberty comes sooner for overweight girls:
Pediatricians
have long noted a correlation between overweight and “early menarche” (first
period) in young girls. Overweight and obesity in young girls appears to speed
puberty. Girls who experience their first period at a relatively young age are
predisposed to become obese as adults. Childhood obesity helps drive both early
puberty and adult weight troubles. For parents concerned about the potential
for obesity in their daughter’s future, “the focus should be on the child being
overweight rather than the timing of her first period,”
Nutrition for teenage boys:
Between
the ages of 13 and 17 most boys will gain around 17kg. That is quite a growth
spurt in just four years and a lot of food is required to achieve this
growth.
Teenage
boys are known for their enormous appetites and they usually eat so much food
that they rarely lack any particular vitamin or mineral. As with all things in
life, however, there are limits for good health. Too much of any one sort of
food will lead to an imbalance. Weight gain or even obesity can result from
eating too much. Currently about half the adult population (male and female) is
overweight. Being overweight has serious drawbacks for young people. One is
more likely to be picked on or bullied if you are overweight and less likely to
do well at sport. A wide variety of food is the key to a healthy diet,
especially if you are a male between 13 and 17 years.
Nutritional Balance
Whole
cereals should be taken in good quantities. These starchy foods are energy
giving foods, which are needed in large amounts to support the growth spurt of
your teenage years.
Good
proteins should also be included in the form of milk, pulses, meats, fish etc.
You need 2 glasses of milk throughout the day, as well as a piece of fruit or a
serving of vegetables and bowl of pulse or fish at each meal. You should be
eating four or more servings of fruit and vegetables every day. When energy
intake needs to be high, eating between meals helps you get there. Snacking is
good for you because it helps keep your energy levels constant. Snacking is
good for you as long as the snacks are healthy and can be in form of fruit.
Some snacks are better than others at supplying energy, vitamins and minerals.
Healthy snacks to choose from include a bowl of breakfast cereal (at any time),
a sandwich of whole wheat bread and peanut
butter, beans sprout ,cottage cheese strings, yoghurt, a yoghurt drink, a
milkshake, fruit, a fruit shake.
Exercise
Regular
exercise is important so that you get a balance between the energy you eat and
the energy you expend (use up). Exercise would also help in building the
muscles, as they are important to impress the girls.
