Feeding your teenager

If you thought feeding your school age child was difficult, fasten your seat belt for feeding your teenage. Although adolescence is defined as the teenage years between 12 and 20, physical maturation and changes in nutrient requirements actually begin at younger years and sometimes extend longer. If you find yourself feeling frustrated, try to remember that the only person this is more difficult for is your child. Just remember the important part of adolescence is that your make if through alive. I have spoken to people who found it a challenge to live with a teenager and to those who thought it was the best time during their child raising years. I must admit that I have not lived through this stage yet, so I have no first hand experience. My own teenage years lacked any nutrition and I am reasonable healthy now.

After the slow growth rate during the middle of childhood, adolescence is characterized by an increase in the physical growth similar to that seen during infancy. Before the age of 9, boys and girls grow around the same rate. The growth spurt that proceeds puberty begins between 10 and 12 for girls and about two years later for boys. Nutrient requirements parallel the growth rate, so they need to eat more when they are growing. Usually what you see is that you can't seem to keep food in the house and then they shoot up over night. The average (if only they were) girl needs around 2200 calories a day. While, teenage boys need about 2800 calories a day. That is really a lot of food. This could be why they like high fat foods, like pizza and hamburgers. Teenagers assume greater responsibility for the decision making in their lives and often determine their own food intake. Their food choices reflect various factors including family eating patterns, peer influence, media, appetite and food availability. Make as many of these factors positive as you can.

There are some nutritional concerns that you need to be aware of. Eating patterns become erratic with skipping of meals, various fad diets, snacking and living on fast food. This can lead to many nutritional imbalances. The nutrients that are frequently limited in the teen diet are zinc, iron, vitamins A, D, B-6, folic acid, and calcium if soda replaces milk in their diet. To make matters worse, many girls become preoccupied with being model thin during this time. This can lead to the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia. If you suspect this, seek help immediately. This is something that should be handled with professional help. If you have concerns about eating disorders visit Dr. C. Everett Koop's web site for Eating Disorders.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic