Adolescence
About Healthy Eating
The teenage years are a time of rapid growth and development, so a healthy balanced diet is particularly important. Healthy, active young people can have large appetites. If you're a teenager, it's important to eat well-balanced meals, rather than too many snacks that are high in fat, sugar or salt.
Key nutrients during adolescents
| Iron | Calcium | Vitamin D | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uses | - Iron is essential for teenager's health due to it being a period of fast growth and development
- It is especially important for girls as they start menstruatin |
- Calcium is crucial for developing healthy bones and teeth and the function of muscles and nerves.
- Calcium requirements are high due to it being period of rapid growth and development |
- Vitamin D is important for healthy bones, muscles and teeth
- It helps the absorption of calcium from foods |
| Where to find them? | Iron can be found in animal sources (meat and fish) and plant source | Milk, yogurt, cheese, milk pudding, soya, tofu, etc. | The best source of vitamin D is sunshine |
| Aim for following amounts: | Teen boys: 11mg Teen girls: 15mg |
Adolescent (from 11-18 yo) should aim for the following amounts of calcium per day: - Boys:1000mg - Girls:800mg |
1-18yo: 400-600units daily |
To avoid
- high in fat, especially saturated fat, sugar or salt, should only be eating in small amounts or not very often
- Limit how much fast food you eat
- Try to eat no more than 6g salt and 30g sugar a day
- Energy drinks are not recommended for young people under the age of 16 and should be limited in over 16s and adults as it contains high level of sugar and often contained high levels of caffeine – high doses of caffeine can be linked directly to anxiety and sleep problems
To maintain a healthy weight, it's recommended to:
- Cut down on sweets, cakes, biscuits and fizzy drinks
- Eat less fired and processed foods such as chips, burgers, instant noodles etc
- Eat regular and balanced meals
- Base meals on starchy foods, chooseing wholegrain varieties whenever possible
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
Health and weight managements is complex and challenging and many factors are involved
If you are concerned about your weight or health status, speack with school nurse or gp
About Water
The daily water requirement of the body depends on age, weight, sec and air temperature. The recommended daily water intake for male and female from 51yr and above are 3.4L/day and 2.8L/day respectively.
Some common intake source of water for our body includes: Water, Beverages, Fruits, Juices
The recommended best times to drink water includes:
- When you first get up
- Before each meal
- With snack
- Before a workout
- With medication if allowed
- Drink more water to prevent illness following exposures
- Have a glass when tired
In June 2009, “scientific American” published an article titled “Fact or Fiction? You must drink 8 glasses of Water Daily”. The article describes the 8x8 rule of thumb dictating that you must drink 8ox glasses of water every day. Tea, coffee, soda, juices and sports drinks do not count towards the eight-glass total. This is a simple guide that offers an easy way of measuring the approximate amount of daily water intake required for each individuals in all age groups.
Some healthy habits to increase your daily water intake:
- Always carry a bottle of clean water with you wherever you go
- Set a periodic reminder so that you don’t forget to drink water
- Exercise can help make you want to drink water more
- Keep a little log which can be as simple as a tick mark for each glass of water you drink