Reading

The period of adolescence is a time of very rapid growth and high demands for nutrients and energy. The rapid growth period starts at the age of 10 or 11 for girls and at the age of 12 or 13 for boys and continues for about 2.5 years. Adolescents need high intakes of calories, vitamins and minerals, especially iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and D. During this time, boys and girls begin to reach puberty (gaining sex characteristics to mature into men and women) and nutritional needs start to differ, although good nutrition is essential for both sexes to grow into healthy adults.

It is important for adolescents to select their foods carefully to ensure that their nutrient and calorie needs are met. Sometimes the workload of adolescent girls and boys increases, as they begin to have greater responsibilities for carrying out household tasks and additional jobs to help the family. When this is the case, their needs for energy (calories) for the additional work they are doing, along with their needs for growth, will have to be met. Some adolescents, however, become less physically active and have to meet their nutrient needs without eating more calories they need to maintain a healthy body weight.

Adolescence is a time to reinforce good food habits and establish regular meal patterns. Dietary habits and food preferences are developed in childhood and particularly in adolescence. As they become more independent, many adolescents begin to have more meals away from the family, often resulting in poor food choices, skipped meals, increased snacking instead of regular, balanced meals and lower vitamin and mineral intake at a time when good nutrition is especially important. Adolescents also tend to follow food fads and slimming diets which do not meet all of their nutritional needs. It is important at this age to eat a variety of foods, including carbohydrates, plentiful fruits and vegetables, daily protein and dairy foods or other foods containing calcium and to avoid excess fat and sugar.

• See Lesson 9 “Achieving Good Body Size and Weight” and Lesson 10 “Keeping Fit and Active”

Download Part 4 (1.6Mb)

Activities

My food dairy 

Keep track of what you eat and drink for three days by filling in the Work sheet “My food diary”  (511kb). When you have completed it, use the questions to analyse your diet and eating habits.

My meal analysis

Choose one typical midday meal and analyze it in more detail. Make a list of all the ingredients that make up each dish of this meal (for example, potatoes, beans, beef, spinach, herbs, spices, fats, oils), write each of them on cards and stick the cards on the Work sheet “My meal analysis” (509kb) in the place where you think it belongs:
Discuss:

• Is the meal healthy and varied?
• Which different nutrients did you get from this meal?
• Does it provide a variety of fruit and vegetables?
• Are there too many foods rich in carbohydrates? protein? fats?
• Are there too few foods rich in carbohydrates? protein? fats?

Plan a cooking contest with your friends

Ask each of your friends to cook a healthy dish at home and to bring it to your Healthy eating contest. The participants should present the ingredients and the nutritional value of their dishes and set them out to be judged on taste, appearance and dietary value. Award the winner with a prize (a recipe book) and have a party.

Help Andrew pack his lunch

Teenagers are often very busy with school, sports and active social lives and are not always able to sit down for three meals a day. This student’s school does not provide food for lunch, so he usually gets something high in energy and quick to eat. Go to the Work sheet (509kb) and help Andrew start bringing a healthy lunch from home by planning his packed lunches for a week.

Materials

• Fact sheet “Nutrition for school-age children” (1.1Mb)
• Work sheet “My food diary”  (524kb)
• Ask yourself Worksheet “How good is your diet?” (807kb)
• Work sheet “My meal analysis” (524kb)
• Work sheet “Help Andrew pack his lunch” (524kb)

Download Part 4 Materials(2.1Mb)

Key Points

Review these four key points to remember about a healthy diet for adolescents. See if your knowledge has improved and share it with adolescent friends and family members.

Nutritional needs of adolescent boys and girls (11-17 years old)

• Adolescence is a time of very rapid growth and high demands for nutrients and energy as the body matures into adulthood.
• It is a time to reinforce good food choices and eating habits and establish regular meal patterns. It is important to choose foods rich in all the nutrients, and especially iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and D.
• Adolescent girls need eat well for their own immediate development and for future motherhood. They especially need to eat foods rich in iron to meet their very high iron needs due to rapid growth and blood loss.
• Adolescent boys mature differently from girls and may need more calories and protein foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts and legumes.