Nutritional needs change according to your stage of growth and development, but it's not just nutritional needs that change. During your teenage years, as you are developing into an adult, you'll probably find that life in general is changing and this will affect the way that you eat and the types of food that you eat.
You have a lot of growing and development to do during your teenage years, so it's important to get enough energy and nutrients inside you to make sure that you grow to your potential. Read on to find out how to combine good nutrition with a changing lifestyle.
Energy needs in the teenage years
It can be amazing watching how much a teenage boy can eat! At around the age of 15, the average active boy will need twice the amount of energy that a fully grown man needs - and that's just to maintain his weight!
Whilst it's a good idea for you to satisfy your appetite, it's important to ensure that the foods you eat are energy giving rather than fattening.
This is because if you get into the habit of eating high fat foods. While you may get away with it during teenage growth spurts, as you get older and your growth weight slows down, you may begin to store fat, leading to overweight and obesity - literally a growing problem in Ireland.
Choosing foods such as bread, potatoes, pasta, cereals, rice and breakfast cereals will provide you with the energy and vitamins needed to support your growth and development (have a look at the food pyramid). High fat foods will certainly provide you with energy, but in the form of fat. While everyone needs a certain amount of fat in their diet, eating a lot of high fat foods such as takeaways, crisps and chocolate can lead to weight problems.
Using energy efficiently
One of the reasons that obesity is becoming more common in young people is lack of activity and exercise. Keeping active, whether it's playing sport or simply walking instead of taking a lift can help ensure that energy is used in the body effectively and efficiently. If you do a lot of sport, your energy needs will be much greater, so you'll probably find that you need to eat even more of the energy foods to fulfil your needs.
Four or more...
Fruit and vegetables are a great source of vitamins, helping to keep your skin, eyes and digestive system in good shape. While you could take a vitamin supplement, evidence shows that supplements are no substitute for vitamins packed as nature intended, as fruit and veg .
Getting enough need not be the hard work it seems, it can in fact be easy to make sure that you have at least four portions every day. For example, having a banana with breakfast, fruit juice instead of a sugary drink at lunchtime, some salad in your sandwich at lunchtime and a portion of vegetables with dinner brings you up to quota very easily!
Building bones to last a lifetime
Growth spurts during teenage years involve the growth of your bones. Growing bones need calcium and vitamin D (and weight bearing exercise like walking or jogging), and the best sources of both are milk, cheese and yoghurt . If you are vegetarian there are non-milk options also. Many teenage boys drink a lot of milk, so getting enough calcium and vitamin D is not a big problem. To make sure you are getting enough, make sure that you have five portions of milk, cheese and yoghurt foods every day. For example, a third of a pint of milk or milk pudding, a carton of yoghurt or an ounce of cheddar cheese.
Muscle building and iron
As you grow and develop, you'll probably find that your muscles get bigger, especially around your shoulders. Protein is required to build these muscles, however the quantity of protein you need does not increase greatly - what is important however is that you are choosing high quality sources of protein. Iron is essential for healthy blood to ensure that all the growing parts of your body receive the oxygen and energy that they need.
As you can see you need surprisingly little of these foods to meet your iron and protein needs, so make sure that you go easy on high fat types such as burgers, sausages,pizzas and takeaway kebabs!
All the other stuff…
A lot of teenage boys eat a lot of fast foods, crisps and chocolate, and may even manage to do so without seeming to affect their weight and health negatively. The problem is that if you get into the habit of eating a lot of these foods as a teenager, it can be hard to break the habit, as you get older. Also, if all your friends are eating high fat foods, it can be hard to resist the temptation.
You could try to limit the amount of these foods you eat by deciding to keep “take-aways” to once a week and making your own healthier alternatives at home (see takeaway alternatives for some ideas).
If you get hungry regularly and are in the habit of snacking, instead of going for chocolate or crisps, get into the habit of grabbing a bowl of cereal, wholemeal toast and jam, a yoghurt , fresh fruit or carrot sticks, cheese or tuna and crackers, popcorn or a plain biscuit and milk.
Healthier snacks like these will meet your energy needs and will provide you with vitamins and minerals that high fat foods may not contain.
Teenage boys and eating disorders
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are becoming increasingly common in teenage boys. It's hard to know exactly why this is, but if you are worried about yourself or a friend it's important to know that you are not alone and there are people around you that will want to help you. If you are concerned, read Anorexia and bulimia the factsand make sure that you speak to a trusted and responsible adult about your concerns.
A final thought…
During teenage years, it's easy for good eating habits to go to out the window as you are rushing around, growing into your new body and developing into an adult. It can be hard to lose bad habits learned during teenage years when you are an adult - so take the opportunity to make sure that you eat in a way that will stand you well now and in later years!
