Teenage girls go through a great deal of growth and development. As well as physical changes, there are also the mental and emotional changes to deal with.

As you get older, the way you eat and the type of foods that you eat may also change. While it's important to make the right food choices, it's equally important not to get too hung up on food. It's all about getting a balance between healthy eating and a healthy attitude to food.

Changing shape

Girls grow at a quicker pace at an earlier age from boys, which is one of the reasons that girls can be much taller than boys around the age of eleven and twelve. In the teenage years, a girl's body shape changes from that of a child to a woman, and she will begin to develop female 'curves'.

While many girls enjoy the changes that are happening to their body, some girls feel very self-conscious about this change in body shape and try to stop this natural process by reducing their food intake. For some young women, this concern with body shape and weight can become obsessive and can quickly develop into an eating disorder. If you are concerned that you or a friend may be suffering from an eating disorder, read Anorexia and bulimia: the facts for more information.

On the other hand, excess weight and obesity is a growing problem, especially among women, and commonly starts in the teenage years. One of the reasons for this is, as we've already said, that girls do a lot of their growing before they become teenagers while boys don't begin to shoot up until they are in their mid teens

This basically means that teenage girls do not need the same amount of calories as teenage boys do. As well as this, as a general rule, teenage boys tend to be more active than teenage girls (though this is not always the case of course!) meaning they burn more energy in this way too.

So how is a teenage girl meant to avoid getting overweight while allowing her body to develop the curves and shape it's meant to have? The answer thankfully, is simply to make sure that she gets most of her energy from starchy, high fibre foods rather than high fat foods. Have a look at the bottom shelf of the food pyramidfor some ideas.

Starchy foods like potatoes, bread, pasta, rice and breakfast cereals provide energy in an easily burnable form, avoiding fat storage that can occur from a very high fat diet. If you are overweight and are thinking about going on a diet, make sure you are well informed before you do. Start by reading The deal with dietsfor some information on the do's and don'ts of dieting.

Carrots help you see in the dark, an apple a day keeps the GP away…

You've probably heard these sayings a million times and believe it or not, there is a bit of truth in them! Fruit and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that help to keep your eyes , skin and digestive system healthy. Whilst they may not give you supernatural powers, fruit and vegetables provide the right combinations of vitamins and minerals in a natural packaging of soluble fibre. You can take vitamin and mineral supplements, but evidence suggests that it's fruit and vegetables rather than vitamins and minerals that are most beneficial for your health.

Eating four or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day is really quite easy - have a banana at breakfast, a fruit juice and salad portion at lunch and a few vegetables at dinner and voila! - you've reached your daily quota!

Building bones to last a lifetime!

Fact: women are about ten times more likely to suffer from osteoporosis (a bone weakening disease) than men. During your teenage years, a lot of bone growth takes place, so making sure that your body has all the building tools that it needs can help to ensure that you build bones that last a lifetime!

Healthy bones are built from an adequate supply of calcium, vitamin D, weight bearing exercise and female hormones!

You can make sure that you get enough calcium by having five portions of milk, cheese and yoghurt a day. For example one portion equals a third of a pint (about 200ml) of milk or milk pudding, or a carton of yoghurt or an ounce (about 30g) of cheese. If you are vegetarianand do not eat milk products, you will have to consider other sources of calcium instead.
Vitamin D is found in milk products, margarine, oily fish and in fortified foods such as fortified milk and breakfast cereal.

It's also produced by sunlight on your skin, so get out and about as much as you can!
'Weight bearing' exercise includes activities like walking, jogging and running. Getting thirty minutes of this type of exercise on a daily basis can help to increase your bone density and maintain a healthy weight
The female hormone oestrogen is involved in bone growth also. Teenage girls who diet or exercise excessively can reduce their body fat so far that their bodies have difficulty in producing oestrogen. When there is a lack of oestrogen, bone growth is affected. If this happens during the precious teenage years of growth, bones can end up being a lot thinner than they should be, meaning there is a higher risk of osteoporosis in later years.
Iron needs

Iron is an essential nutrient that keeps your blood healthy, ensuring that it can bring oxygen and energy to where it is needed in the body. Low iron levels are becoming increasingly common in teenage girls. This is because a lot of teenage girls cut red meat from their diet in an attempt to control weight. If this important source of iron is not replaced, with the start of a girl's periods, the risk of becoming low in iron is high.

Foods such as lean, red meat (lamb, beef, pork), the dark meat in chicken and turkey, oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, trout and herring are good sources of iron. Vegetable sources such as green leafy vegetables, peas and beans and fortified breakfast cereals also contain iron but in less available forms. Vegetable sources need to be taken with a vitamin C containing food such as orange or blackcurrant juice to maximise iron absorption into your body.

Link to article on iron
If you have low iron levels (anaemia), you may find that you are tired and listless, that your concentration levels are poor and that your skin is unusually pale. If you think you may be anaemic, see your GP as soon as possible for a check-up.

Finally…

Being a teenager is VERY different to being a child - both physically and mentally. Eating well and making sure that you are getting all the nutrients and energy that you need can help you to feel healthy and grow to the best of your potential.