Media and peer pressure help make teenagers increasingly concerned about their weight. While obesity poses serious health problems, the desire to achieve a Hollywood ideal of thinness can lead to unhealthy eating habits. Teen bodies, still developing, need calories and nutrients. Extreme low-calorie diets can impair a teen's growth. But balanced diet and exercise can help a teen safely attain a healthy weight.
Calorie Needs
Teenage girls over age 14 typically require 2,200 calories a day for healthy growth and development. Teenage boys of the same age require approximately 3,000 calories each day. Active teens require more than average caloric intake due to the additional energy spent during physical activity. Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet will usually ensure that a teenager gets the required amount of calories each day without the need for calorie counting.
Source of Calories
Teens should not adopt low-calorie diets, but should make their calories count. A bag of chips and a container of yogurt, for instance, contain about the same amount of calories. The chips provide mostly fat calories, while the yogurt provides calcium and protein. Calcium promotes healthy bone growth. Iron, found in meat and green leafy vegetables, provides energy. Iron deficiency can cause fatigue. Omega-3 fats, found in fish, seeds, nuts and olive oil, help boost a teen's immune system and may also lower the risk of depression.
Government Guidelines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture My Pyramid provides guidelines that include tools to create a diet tailored to your teen's age, gender, weight and activity level. Teens 14 and older should eat a variety of foods from all the food groups. Emphasize healthy fats, such as those found in olive oil, and limit saturated fats and trans-fats. Include fruits, vegetables and dairy products in your teen's diet. Your teen needs a lot of carbohydrates. Good choices include those from whole grains, such as brown rice, multigrain bread and oatmeal.
Exercise
While a healthy diet is important for growth and development, exercise may prove equally important. Food provides energy for your body. Any energy that is not spent is stored as fat. There are many fun ways for a teen to burn calories. Basketball, running, bike riding, swimming and skating for approximately half an hour can burn up to approximately 250 calories. Help your teens find sports that they enjoy. The results will not only be a healthier lifestyle, but also improved confidence and self-esteem.
Weight Loss
If you need to lose weight, the same rules of good nutrition apply. Don't skip food groups -- carbohydrates, for instance -- to lose weight. Concentrate on making healthier choices within each food group -- lean poultry instead of fried chicken, fresh broccoli instead of canned corn -- to keep your growing body well-nourished. You can omit empty calories such as those in sugar. Substitute water and low-fat milk for soda and milkshakes. Eat an apple instead of an apple turnover. You needn't -- and shouldn't -- go hungry. Just make healthier choices.
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