Achieving Maximum Nutrition with a Teenager's Minimal Time

Part of being a teenager is becoming more independent from family and parents. Part-time jobs and other after-school activities often run into the dinner hour. Because of this, teens are likely to be eating outside of the home more than before. But, your teen has very real nutritional needs, so what is a parent to do? You cannot be with them 24/7 to stop them from inhaling a candy bar, package of chips and soda as their dinner. But, you can lay the groundwork for good eating habits early in their life, and unless your idea of a balanced meal is nachos and Kool-Aid your child will have internalized some basic ideas about healthy eating that they will carry into their teen years.

Adolescence or the teenage years is that transition period between childhood and adulthood that begins at puberty. For girls that age is between 10 and 13 and peaks out at 15, and for boys it is between 12 and 15 and peaks out at 19. This spurt of intensive growth also brings dramatic increases in height as well as hormonal changes that affect every body organ including the brain. These physical changes also have a direct influence on a teen’s nutritional needs. They need additional calories, protein, calcium and iron.

Unfortunately, most teens are more concerned about body image and physical performance in sports rather than making sure they consume the proper nutritional requirements for their age group. Adolescents need additional calories to provide energy for growth and activity. Caloric intake also depends on the teen’s growth rate, degree of physical maturation or body composition and activity level. Protein is important for growth and maintenance of muscle, teens need between 45 and 60 grams per day. Adequate calcium intake, 1,200 milligrams per day, is essential for the development of strong and dense bones. As teens gain muscle mass, more iron is needed to help their new muscle cells obtain oxygen for energy.

Now that you are aware that your teen has specific nutritional needs, how do you ensure that they at least make an attempt at eating healthy? Don’t despair, there are important things you can do as a parent to positively influence your teen’s diet:

• Provide structured meals, and expect your teen to eat with the family at least once a day – if possible. This will allow you to include healthy foods in your teen’s diet.

• Make sure your house is well stocked with healthy snacks. Keep colorful fruit, raw vegetables, whole wheat breads with sandwich fixings (lean turkey, tuna in water), juices, string cheese, low-salt pretzels, soup and yogurt on hand and easily available.

• Talk to your teen about lunch choices, encourage them to drink water, milk or green tea instead of soda and consider adding fruit or vegetables to their noontime meal. Be sure you know what options are available for meals and snacks at their school.

• Avoid criticizing your teen’s food choices. When food becomes a topic of struggle, studies show that teens skip more meals and make even worse choices. Despite parent’s worst fears, teens manage through these years and unless you notice your teen is losing more weight than is healthy or appears to be relying on supplements instead of whole foods, step back and let them experiment.

• In addition to a basic dinner, always provide teenage-friendly filler foods such as whole grain breads or a bowl of whole wheat pasta. This way, if your teen doesn’t like what is on their plate, they will stay at the table because there is something else they’ll eat, plus these filler foods will help them reach the caloric intake they need.

• Leave a meal in the fridge for times when you won’t all be together, it offers the opportunity for your teen to have something healthy when they get home at the end of their day.

• Cook on the weekends and freeze the food in appropriate portions.

• Teach your teen to cook, many healthy foods are simple to prepare. A home-prepared turkey burger is easy and nutritious, and a quick baked potato or sweet potato topped with cheese, turkey or vegetables is microwavable, filling and delicious.

Remember, your teen will eat differently than they did as children. With their after-school activities and active social lives teens are not always able to sit down for three meals a day. Busy schedules lead to meal skipping, snacking through the day and more eating away from home. But this doesn’t mean you cannot give your teen the nutritional knowledge to make better food choices. Be patient and proactive and do what you can to make the connection that what they eat now will affect not only their current health, but their future health.

About the Foundation
The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s mission is to enhance the health and wellness of area residents, providing education, funding and programs that motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles.

Commit to Mission: Good Nutrition
In support of the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s goal to promote healthy living and healthy lifestyles, the Foundation sponsors the Mission Good Nutrition program, which airs every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on PCTV Channel 28. Tune in and discover nutritional ideas you can use immediately and benefit from every day. Mission: Good Nutrition is an entertaining educational show designed to motivate, encourage and empower individuals to continue developing healthier dietary habits. Go to “Mission: Good Nutrition” at www.pottstownfoundation.org for recipes featured on the program, video clips, fitness tips and quizzes. The March episode features the students of the Daniel Boone Middle school. Experience their healthy cafeteria and see how a grant program funded by the Foundation is teaching young students how to cook.