The importance of a healthy well-balanced diet begins at birth and continues throughout your life. If you introduce your young children to a healthy diet, it benefits them immediately as well as teaches them good eating habits they can follow in adulthood. A healthy diet affects the growth of children and teens. A poor diet can affect them physically, intellectually and mentally.
Brain Function
A healthy diet can increase your child's brain function. A diet poor in nutritional value can slow brain function and decrease memory capabilities. Your child should not skip meals and each meal should provide nutritional balance. A breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and milk provides fewer calories but a lot more nutrition than a doughnut and soda. Preteens need a variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains and protein to help their bones, muscles and tissues grow. They also require fairly high energy levels. The types of food they eat can also affect their moods.
Risks
If your preteen can't get enough calories he can suffer from malnutrition. A preteen's body requires healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and protein each day in order to both function and grow properly. If your preteen eats too many unhealthy fats such as saturated fats and trans-fats, your child faces a higher risk of developing heart disease. A diet high in sugar can put your preteen at risk of developing diabetes. You can improve your child's diet by substituting healthy foods for unhealthy -- more fish, poultry and nuts and less red meat, processed foods and commercial baked goods. Lack of omega-3 fatty acid -- found in olive oil, fatty fish, seeds and nuts -- can lead to dyslexia, decreased learning ability, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and depression.
A Healthy Start
You can help your preteen avoid problems due to poor diet. You can begin by making certain that your preteen eats a healthy breakfast. Your child needs to replenish energy levels that decrease during sleep. The best breakfast covers more than one food group and contains carbohydrates, the body's primary source for energy. Sample, easy-to-prepare breakfasts include whole grain toast with peanut butter and a banana or yogurt with blueberries and almonds. You can include fresh fruit rather than a bag of chips in your preteen's lunch, keep your pantry stocked with healthy snacks and choose vegetable protein -- such as beans, legumes and soy -- over meat protein for some dinners.
Considerations
Getting a preteen to eat healthy can prove difficult. If children don't learn healthy eating habits at a young age, it can be difficult to change their habits. Television ads for unhealthy foods can also influence your preteen's food choices. You might find it harder to monitor your preteen's eating habits. Preteens eat away from home more often than young children. When your preteen eats in your home, prepare well-balanced meals. Eat as a family and try to set a good example for your children.
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