Diet for Adolescent Children
- Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 4:08
- Children's Health, Health Care
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Nutrition plays an important role in maintaining our health and keeps us fit for years to come. Our diet can determine if we are going to succumb to any diseases in the long run such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer etc. or continue to live a healthy, disease free life.
Adolescence is a turning point in the lives of children. Not only do they require more attention psychologically and socially at this point of time, but their nutritional needs too require a great deal of attention. Girls tend to grow faster than boys and might reach adolescence by the age of 12.
It is during adolescence that children require a lot of nutrients in adequate amounts so that their bodies grow and develop properly. Starting from hormonal changes, teenagers experience changes in their height, bone structure and voice.
Diet during adolescence:
Adolescence is a point of time when girls need to acquire a larger amount of body fat in comparison to boys so that they can prepare their bodies for the childbearing years ahead. The requirement for all nutrients goes up during adolescence, particularly for calcium, iron and protein.
Calcium is required for the growth and development of healthy bones and high intake of this mineral at this time in life safeguards the body against osteoporosis later in life. Iron builds blood and helps combat anemia. It also helps replace the loss of blood during menstruation.
Adolescence is also a time when parents need to be on the lookout as a number of teenage girls go on to develop eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. These disorders can be emotionally as well as physically disturbing and may eventually pave way for other serious medical complications.
A number of teenagers are resorting to fast foods and have a high consumption of burgers, pizzas, hot dogs, noodles and other ready to eat processed foods. Popping sodas and other unhealthy snacks combined with the lack of adequate exercise is paving way for the development of various lifestyle diseases. Individuals in their 20s and 30s are struggling to combat diabetes and heart disease.
During adolescence it is recommended that children intake a diet rich in all the vital nutrients, low in fat and high in dietary fiber Foods such a whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, eggs, poultry, fish and lean meat should be included in the diet. .
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