Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during adolescence requires balance. The typical teenage diet tips the scale with excessive consumption of sugar, salt and fat in the form of sodas, juices, candy, baked goods and fast foods. To achieve balance, teens must enter the realm of real food and replace high-calorie snacks with nutrient-dense meals. But health does not end with nutrition. Daily physical activity must also be balanced between school, friends and activities like television and video games.
Balanced Diet
To support rapid growth and development during adolescence, teens should eat a balanced diet consisting of whole grains, plenty of fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and milk products, and lean meat, poultry, fish and beans. More than half the dinner plate should be devoted to fruits and vegetables with the remaining portion leftover for the other food groups at every meal. The most important consideration for teen health is consuming enough calcium and iron during the day from foods like low-fat milk, milk products or tofu and red meat, eggs and iron-fortified cereals, respectively. Calcium is required to build strong bones and teeth, and iron is needed for oxygen distribution throughout the body to stimulate movement and thought.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise like jogging, cycling and swimming promote heart health and prevent weight gain by elevating your heart rate for an extended period of time. These exercises will also improve endurance or stamina and relieve teenage angst with the release of mood-stimulating endorphins. Team sports are a fun way to get your 30 minutes a day, but going for a solo jog or swim will also strengthen your heart and help you live longer.
Anaerobic Exercise
Anaerobic or strength training exercise that fuels muscular development also burns excess fat and strengthens bones to prevent weight gain and osteoporosis or the bone loss that occurs with aging, respectively. And because dietary sugars are immediately utilized by or stored as fuel for muscles, anaerobic exercise helps control blood sugar to prevent diabetes. Anaerobic exercise is also important for strengthening ligaments that stabilize the body, prevent falls and reduce the risk of injury.
Member Comments