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Nutrition for Teens
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True/False - Quiz: Do You Understand Nutrition for Teens?
Information - Nutrition for Teens
As children grow into teenagers, their nutritional needs change. Teens need more calories and nutrients including protein, calcium, and iron, but the challenge can be getting them to make healthy choices. Generally, boys go through a growth spurt around the age of 14, and girls around the age of 12.
Healthy Foods for Teens
While nutritional needs will vary, usually your teen should aim for a 2,000 calorie diet each day that includes:
• Two cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables.
• Five and a half ounces of protein-rich foods to build muscles and organs. Look for lean meat, fish, poultry, beans, tofu and eggs.
• Iron-rich foods such as iron-fortified cereals, spinach and lean beef. Iron is essential to support teens’ growth.
• Six ounces of whole grains, such as brown rice, breakfast cereal and pasta, which contain carbohydrates for energy.
• Three one-cup servings of low-fat or fat-free calcium-rich foods like yogurt, milk and cheddar cheese for healthy bones and teeth.
Teens should choose unsaturated fats over saturated fats whenever possible, which are found in olive oil, fatty fish like salmon and nuts and seeds. Fat should make up 25 to 35 percent of a teen’s total calories each day. Soda and artificially sweetened fruit juices are full of empty calories and should be replaced with water or low-fat/fat-free milk whenever possible.
Teens & Body Image
Teenagers are often very focused on how they look – whether they think they’re too fat, too skinny or are dealing with acne. It’s important to focus on the benefits of eating healthy rather than how it will affect their appearance. Exercise can be a great way to encourage teens to have a healthy body image and limit screen time.
Exercise can also reduce their risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Teens should be active for 60 minutes or more every day of the week, and should include a range of activities he or she enjoys, whether it’s biking to school, swimming or walking the dog.
Talk to your nutritionist if you'd like more information on teens and nutrition.
Visit HealthChoicesFirst.com for more videos and resources on healthy eating.
Print this Action Plan and check off items that you want to discuss with your healthcare provider
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Teens need more calories and nutrients including protein, calcium, and iron, but the challenge can be getting them to make healthy choices. Generally, boys go through a growth spurt around the age of 14, and girls around the age of 12.
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While nutritional needs will vary, usually your teen should aim for a 2,000 calorie diet each day.
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Teens should choose unsaturated fats over saturated fats whenever possible, which are found in olive oil, fatty fish like salmon and nuts and seeds. Fat should make up 25 to 35 percent of a teen’s total calories each day.
-
Soda and artificially sweetened fruit juices are full of empty calories and should be replaced with water or low-fat/fat-free milk whenever possible.
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Teens should be active for 60 minutes or more every day of the week, and should include a range of activities he or she enjoys, whether it’s biking to school, swimming or walking the dog.