Fahmida Hashem :
Adolescence is the only time in a person’s life where their rate of growth will increase. Adolescents can gain 15 per cent of their ultimate adult height and 50 per cent of their adult weight in this time period. They simply need more nutrients to support that growth and to become healthy adults.
It is a fact well known to parents that teens, unsurprisingly difficult about a great many things, are also typically surly and uncooperative when it comes to eating well. For their part, adolescents often tell the researchers who study their nutrition habits that they simply aren’t set up with the tools for healthy eating: time, access and money.
About 80 percent of teens don’t eat a nutritionally sound diet, according to a study released this week in the journal Circulation, using NHANES data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In focus groups we have done with teens, time comes up as their biggest issue in terms of eating better. They say that they know what they should eat. But that their schedules don’t allow them to eat that way.
Many of them report participating in school activities after school then come home and work on homework until early in the morning hours, then get a few hours of sleep and go back to school.
With that kind of tight schedule, vending machines, corner stores and fast food drive-thrush are more accessible and easier on finances made up of allowance money and part-time after-school wages. Because teens make up a unique population-one who often fends for itself without necessarily having the resources to do so properly-it requires a unique set of diet advice. So nutritionists who specialise in adolescent medicine are advised; how can teens make the changes they need to eat right?
Eat whatever for breakfast: Just as long as you eat breakfast. Teens are less likely to eat breakfast than adults are, and studies show that doing so can improve the short-term memory and mood of adolescent students. Breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal or eggs or traditional foods, Students can eat whatever they have quick access to, such as leftover vegetable with ruti, whole grain toast with peanut butter, a sandwich. If students have this with a glass of milk, they get a pretty good dose of calcium, protein, fibre and other nutrients.
Keep snacks in bag: Often, there’s not enough time for a healthy lunch during the school day, so teens can keep healthful snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated in their bag as a way to stay full and hold strong against the allure of the vending machine. If students don’t have time for lunch at school, they can keep items such as low-fat, some whole grain food, dried fruit, whole grain crackers with peanut butter or cheese, or nuts in their bag to eat between meals. Many teens don’t have dinner with their families and are left to fend for themselves in the kitchen, meaning they need quick, easy and healthful meals.
Raid the Fridge for Bite Sized Fruits and Veggies: Parents should keep fruit and cut vegetables or salad mix in an obvious place in the home or refrigerator to encourage teens to use these foods. The younger population is less motivated by their health, unfortunately. Should be getting a full package of meal.
In other words, teens will eat the healthy food if it is easily available to them, but might not have the motivation (and time and resources) to put calories there in the first place.
Don’t worry about changes in appetite: During adolescence, teens’ appetites can vary greatly. This depends on growth spurts and hormonal changes, among other reasons.
Still, calorie needs for teens are not dramatically different than for children-regardless of growth spurts. Overeating is still a big concern for teens. Logically, caloric needs are higher in adolescents than in children, according to the Johns Hopkins working paper. However, they may not be as high as you think.
In summary, adolescent period is very sensitive stage for growth. We should take care of our teen from begins to met their physical and mental need and prepare them for well-built adulthood.
Adolescence is the only time in a person’s life where their rate of growth will increase. Adolescents can gain 15 per cent of their ultimate adult height and 50 per cent of their adult weight in this time period. They simply need more nutrients to support that growth and to become healthy adults.
It is a fact well known to parents that teens, unsurprisingly difficult about a great many things, are also typically surly and uncooperative when it comes to eating well. For their part, adolescents often tell the researchers who study their nutrition habits that they simply aren’t set up with the tools for healthy eating: time, access and money.
About 80 percent of teens don’t eat a nutritionally sound diet, according to a study released this week in the journal Circulation, using NHANES data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In focus groups we have done with teens, time comes up as their biggest issue in terms of eating better. They say that they know what they should eat. But that their schedules don’t allow them to eat that way.
Many of them report participating in school activities after school then come home and work on homework until early in the morning hours, then get a few hours of sleep and go back to school.
With that kind of tight schedule, vending machines, corner stores and fast food drive-thrush are more accessible and easier on finances made up of allowance money and part-time after-school wages. Because teens make up a unique population-one who often fends for itself without necessarily having the resources to do so properly-it requires a unique set of diet advice. So nutritionists who specialise in adolescent medicine are advised; how can teens make the changes they need to eat right?
Eat whatever for breakfast: Just as long as you eat breakfast. Teens are less likely to eat breakfast than adults are, and studies show that doing so can improve the short-term memory and mood of adolescent students. Breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal or eggs or traditional foods, Students can eat whatever they have quick access to, such as leftover vegetable with ruti, whole grain toast with peanut butter, a sandwich. If students have this with a glass of milk, they get a pretty good dose of calcium, protein, fibre and other nutrients.
Keep snacks in bag: Often, there’s not enough time for a healthy lunch during the school day, so teens can keep healthful snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated in their bag as a way to stay full and hold strong against the allure of the vending machine. If students don’t have time for lunch at school, they can keep items such as low-fat, some whole grain food, dried fruit, whole grain crackers with peanut butter or cheese, or nuts in their bag to eat between meals. Many teens don’t have dinner with their families and are left to fend for themselves in the kitchen, meaning they need quick, easy and healthful meals.
Raid the Fridge for Bite Sized Fruits and Veggies: Parents should keep fruit and cut vegetables or salad mix in an obvious place in the home or refrigerator to encourage teens to use these foods. The younger population is less motivated by their health, unfortunately. Should be getting a full package of meal.
In other words, teens will eat the healthy food if it is easily available to them, but might not have the motivation (and time and resources) to put calories there in the first place.
Don’t worry about changes in appetite: During adolescence, teens’ appetites can vary greatly. This depends on growth spurts and hormonal changes, among other reasons.
Still, calorie needs for teens are not dramatically different than for children-regardless of growth spurts. Overeating is still a big concern for teens. Logically, caloric needs are higher in adolescents than in children, according to the Johns Hopkins working paper. However, they may not be as high as you think.
In summary, adolescent period is very sensitive stage for growth. We should take care of our teen from begins to met their physical and mental need and prepare them for well-built adulthood.
