Partner With Your Teen For Healthy Eating
Marc O'Meara, R.D., L.D.N.
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Previously published on Intelihealth.com, November 22, 2002
Revised October 2009
Click here for a printable version.
Have you been trying to get your teen-ager to eat healthily, only to find that you're driving yourself crazy and eroding your relationship with your child? You're not alone in thinking that your efforts are futile. Teen-agers love their autonomy. Nutrition is just another part of their lives that they like to make independent choices about. The more you focus on nutrition issues that they are not implementing, the more they will go the opposite way of your wishes. Parents can only do so much to influence their child's food choices. The sooner parents realize this, the sooner productive dialogue can begin about their child's nutrition.
After all, high-quality teen nutrition is a shared responsibility between parent and child. Providing your child with a wide selection of healthy foods and encouraging (not berating) him or her to try a variety of foods is a good first step. Providing nutrition education to teen-agers in a constructive way can make a bigger impact than criticizing their choices on a daily basis. Showing an understanding and acceptance of their food choices shows your respect of their growing ability to make decisions. Giving your child the chance to make his or her own food choices allows your teen to weave independence with awareness and knowledge.
So what are the important issues for healthy teen nutrition that you can begin to constructively introduce with your teenager over time?
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Harness Plant Power
Most teens don't eat enough fruits and veggies. Only one in five children consumes five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Eating sufficient fruits and vegetables each day is important for long-term health since they contain nutrients that most other food groups don't have. These nutrients, including anti oxidants and phytochemicals, fight battles against heart disease and cancer every day, but most people don't know these battles are even happening. If there is a shortage of these nutrients in the body due to a poor intake of fruits and vegetables, then the body doesn't have enough armies to fight against these chronic diseases that are threatening the body even at a young age. Remember, heart disease can start when people are young and worsen through adulthood. The bottom line: Teens should strive to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables combined. Five fruits and vegetables is equal to a cup of grapes with breakfast, a cup of salad with an apple at lunch, and a cup of broccoli, carrots or corn with dinner.
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Bone Up On Calcium
This nutrient is very important for lifelong bone health since the teenage years are the last chance to fill the bones with as much calcium as possible. A poor calcium intake during teen years could lead to weaker bones throughout life and increase the risk of osteoporosis in elderly years. The National Institute of Medicine recommends that 9- to 18-year-olds eat about 1,300 mg per day to help reach peak bone mass. This can be obtained via high-calcium foods or calcium supplements. If obtaining sufficient calcium through food is difficult, try a well-absorbed supplement such as calcium citrate (for example, Citracal). NOTE: Limiting soda intake to a moderate amount is recommended, since soda is high in phosphorus, and some have caffeine, two compounds that hurt bone-building. On the other hand, weight-bearing exercise (such as walking, weight training or aerobics) helps the body to retain calcium in the bones.
Good food sources of calcium include:
- Yogurt - nonfat plain, low-fat fruit-flavored or frozen
- Milk - protein-fortified, fat-free or 1%
- Fortified orange juice
- Cheese - Swiss, fat-free ricotta, cottage
- Tofu with calcium
- Sardines
- Total brand cereal
- Fortified oatmeal
- Baked beans
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Turnip greens
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Limit Fast Foods And School-Bought Lunches
Unfortunately, American teens are getting a large number of their meals from these two sources. You should consider many of our school lunches on the same level as fast foods since they often times provide large sources of unhealthy fats - saturated and trans fats with very few disease-fighting nutrients. Trans fats, which are man-made, are abundant throughout the fast food industry, especially in items that are deep-fried.
Meals from fast-food restaurants and school cafeterias are tough to eliminate. So it might be best to compromise with the frequency and quality of the choices. Negotiate a number of homemade lunches to bring to school and let your child buy school lunch on days that some of his or her favorites are being offered. Encourage your child to try some of the following choices from fast food restaurants, since they are some of the healthier offerings: Burger King BK Veggie Burger, McDonald's Fruit 'n' Yogurt Parfait, Subway's low-fat subs, McDonald's Chicken McGrill, and Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad.
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No Skipping Breakfast
Eating breakfast is very important for academic performance since the calories help the brain to function. Several studies have shown those who eat breakfast before going to school perform better on tests. A breakfast with protein in it can improve energy, mood and awareness. It can also help increase satiety, which can minimize snacking on junk foods or having huge meal portions later in the day. Here are a few balanced breakfast ideas:
- Whole-grain cereal, low-fat milk and fruit
- Whole-wheat toast, peanut butter and fruit
- English-muffin sandwich with scrambled egg and/or low-fat cheese with a 4- to 6-ounce juice
- Fruit smoothie made with low-fat vanilla yogurt blended with fruit and milk
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Provide Nutritious, Satisfying Snacks
Having ready-to-eat healthy snacks available for a hungry teen after school can help parents fulfill their share of the partnership. Encourage snacks that include fruits or veggies, for the nutrients, and a protein source, for satiation. Some healthy examples include:
- High-fiber cereal, fruit and low-fat milk
- Peanut butter and celery sticks
- Carrots and hummus
- Raisins and nuts
- Low-fat cottage cheese and chopped veggies
- Low-fat yogurt and fruit salad
- Lean-meat sandwich on whole-grain bread
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Enjoy Family Meals, Healthy Relationships
Adults and teenagers are busier than ever before. In many households, one of the first things to get eliminated, unfortunately, is the family meal. Family meals can happen at any mealtime, not just at dinner. The importance if it is to have the family reconnect and share the events of the day. This encourages communication and nourishes family relationships. It also encourages healthy, homemade meals that can be enjoyed by everyone together.
If family meals are infrequent in your household, make a point to communicate with family members at the beginning of the week to plan the week's family meal times.
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Encourage A Healthy Weight
Obesity among teenagers is the highest it has ever been in the United States. One in five U.S. children are currently classified as obese - with a body mass index of 30 or higher. Incorporating the recommendations in this article can help teens to maintain a healthy weight.
Encourage mindful eating. Mindful eating is a skill that involves eating slowly without distractions (such as television, reading, computer, etc.) and paying attention to the food in your mouth so you can enjoy and appreciate each bite. This can reduce the need to eat large portions, since a smaller amount is more satisfying when attention is paid to the food while it's in the mouth.
Sugary drinks, such as soda, juice and sports drinks, have taken over our teenage beverage choices by storm and could be contributing to teenage obesity. The sugar intake of teens has tripled over the past 30 years. A typical 12-ounce soda or juice has the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is about 150 calories. Switching to water, flavored seltzer waters or other flavored waters such as Fruit 2-0 or Gatorade Propel can save a lot of calories and contribute to a healthy weight.
If your teenager needs to lose some weight, remind him or her that cutting out 150 calories (one soda) daily will shed 15 pounds in one year with no other changes. If he or she is thirsty, encourage drinking water to avoid all the sugar that comes with high-calorie drinks.
Our children today are more sedentary than ever before. Exercise is important for maintaining a healthy weight for teens just as it is for adults. Thirty to 60 minutes of physical activity is the daily recommendation. It doesn't have to be exercise on a school sports team or other organized team. It could be walking home from school, dancing or mowing the lawn.
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Recognize Signs Of Eating Disorders And Seek Professional Help
Unfortunately, eating disorders among teens are becoming more common. The key to treatment and avoiding health problems is to identify early signs, which include:
- Rapid weight loss
- Dieting or counting calories
- Not eating in front of others
- Vegetarianism
- Compulsive over-exercising
- Skipping meals or vanishing into the bathroom after meals
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The Bottom Line
Perfection is not the goal for teen nutrition. Be content with making small improvements over time. And be happy knowing that your child is improving his or her nutrition so that these new habits can continue throughout life. Realize that you can't make all the food choices for teens, and you can't force them to do something they are not ready for. Teen-agers are old enough to make their own decisions, and soon they will be doing it on their own. So do your part and let your teen-ager do his or hers. Your relationship will grow stronger, and your child's health will improve with every bite.
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Copyright 2002 Brigham and Women's Hospital
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