Children and teenagers experience rapid growth in a short amount of time. Along with regular physical activity, proper nutrition during childhood and adolescence is a key component of health and wellness, not only during youth but also into adulthood. Help kids and teens establish health eating patterns early in life in order to prevent chronic disease and nutritional deficiencies later in life.
Bone Growth
Bone production peaks during childhood and adolescence, as noted by the International Osteoporosis Foundation. To ensure proper bone growth and formation, make sure that your child or teen gets enough calcium every day. Less than one out of 10 girls and only about one in four boys ages 9 to 13 receive enough calcium every day, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Although milk is the most common dietary source of calcium, other foods like broccoli, spinach, calcium-fortified orange juice and yogurt are also good sources.
Iron Intake
Iron deficiency anemia is one of the more common nutritional deficiencies, both in adults and children. However, children and teenagers are more prone to iron deficiency because of the rapid growth spurts that take place during the early years. If your child drinks a lot of milk, she might be even more susceptible to iron deficiency, since milk is low in iron and often replaces other iron food sources. Symptoms of low iron include chronic fatigue, pale skin, irritability, headaches and shortness of breath. High-iron foods include apricots, oatmeal, spinach, tuna, raisins and prunes.
Calorie Needs
Your child's or teenager's calorie needs vary based on his age, gender and activity level. High calorie intake contributes to the high rate of childhood obesity, but inadequate calorie intake can also cause health problems like nutrient deficiencies. Generally speaking, children ages 2 to 3 need 1,000 to 1,400 calories. Girls ages 4 to 8 need 1,200 to 1,800 calories, or 1,200 to 2,000 calories for boys of the same age. Adolescent girls ages 9 to 13 need 1,400 to 2,200 calories, or 1,600 to 2,600 calories for adolescent boys. During the teenage years, girls need 1,800 to 2,400 calories, or 2,000 to 3,200 calories for teenage guys.
Junk Food
In a survey of high school teenagers, researchers from the Pacific Health Education Center in Bakersfield, California, and Prevention Concepts, Inc., found that 80 percent consumed too much saturated fat and 49 percent had high cholesterol levels. One in 10 of the teens also had high blood pressure. The researchers primarily contributed these negative health effects to high consumption of fast food. For optimal health benefit, limit your child's or teen's intake of fast food, junk food and processed food, which tend to be high in sodium.
References
- International Osteoporosis Foundation: Bone Development in Young People; 2011
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Building Strong Bones: Calcium Information for Health Care Providers; January 2006
- Medline Plus: Iron Deficiency Anemia
- Better Health Channel: Iron Deficiency-Children
- Mayo Clinic; Nutrition for Kids; 2011
- CNN Health: Study: Junk Food Raises Teens Risk of Heart Disease; 2000
- HelpGuide.org: Nutrition for Children and Teens; Maya W. Paul and Lawrence Robinson; 2011
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