Teenagers tend to love junk food, but a healthy, balanced diet is essential to growing bodies and changing nutritional needs. Eating healthy meals doesn't have to mean giving up the occasional treat. Teens can enjoy favorite snack foods and sweet treats in moderation as long as they're also eating a wide variety of foods and meeting their nutritional needs. Learning to cook is an excellent way for teens to control the food they eat.
Considerations
Teenagers need to think about several things when planning a healthy diet. A weight loss diet needs to count calories carefully. Teen athletes need more calories and protein than less active teens. Vegetarians need to ensure that a balanced diet includes enough protein and calcium. Be sure to plan a diet around the lifestyle a teen leads. Busy teens should remember to include healthy, portable snacks when planning a diet. Trail mix, air-popped popcorn, whole or dried fruits and baby carrots are good snacks for teens.
Calories
The calories that teens need varies, depending on age, weight and physical activity. A mostly sedentary female aged 14 to 18 needs 1,800 calories per day, while a male in the same age range needs 2,200 calories every day. Teens who are moderately active should add up to 200 calories to the daily total, while athletes need up to 400 calories more per day, according to the American Heart Association.
Nutritional Needs
Teens need a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. When it comes to protein, 45 to 60 g daily is recommended. Teens also need 1,200 mg of calcium every day. Getting enough iron is important, especially for girls, which need 15 mg per day. Boys should get 12 mg of iron every day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a menu planner based on the food pyramid that allows teens to enter age, weight and activity level to get personalized menus.
Balanced Meals
The best way for teens to get a healthy, balanced diet is to eat as many different foods as possible every day. A breakfast of oatmeal with berries, yogurt, sliced fruit and skim milk provides plenty of calcium, fiber, vitamins and protein. Make sandwiches for lunch that load up on vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, red onions and olives. Add cheese, tuna, egg salad or tofu for protein, but avoid processed lunch meats because they are often high in sodium and contain nitrites, which can be harmful to health. Use whole grain breads for sandwiches. Focus on portion control with dinner and make sure that half of the plate contains vegetables. The other half of the plate should be split between protein and a starch, such as potatoes or whole grain pasta. Think of dessert as a treat that doesn't need to be eliminated, but doesn't need to be eaten every day.
Member Comments