| By : Shaloo | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 11 Oct, 2006 | Total Views : 400 |
Eat healthy, live well!
Adolescence is a stage when young people are maturing not only physically, but mentally and socially, as well. They are in search for their identity, independence and acceptance and at the same time are concerned about their appearance. Irregular meals, snacking, eating away from home and following alternate dietary patterns characterize their eating habits. Besides this, family, peers and the media further influence what they eat. While on one hand, rapid weight gain accompanying the development of sexual characteristics causes young women to restrict the amount of food that they eat which leads to chronic dieting, on the other, young men are tempted to use nutritional supplements to achieve the muscular appearances of adults.
The nutritional implication of this on teenagers, who are willing to do or try anything that makes them look better or improves their body image, is that they become selective about the food that they eat, listen to peers more than to their parents, and their drive towards independence leads to rejection of healthy dietary patterns. Taking into account these factors, nutritional counseling should be geared to meet short-term goals and address nutritional concerns that impact the appearance or performance of these youngsters.
Common problems encountered in adolescent eating habits are: -
1. Irregular meals and snacking
2. Excessive dependence on fast foods for meals or snacks.
3. Obesity secondary to sexual development
4. Eating disorders like restricted dieting, over-eating or other harmful weight control behaviors.
Children and teens need to eat nutritious food and participate in regular physical activity to ensure healthy growth and development, and maintain appropriate body weight.
How many serves children and adolescents need each day:
Children and adolescents Bread, cereal, rice, pasta, noodles Vegetables, legumes Fruit Milk, yoghurt, cheese Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts,legumes Extra foods
Children 4-7 years 3-4 4 2 3 1/2 -1 1-2
Children 8-11 years 4-6 4-5 1-2 3 1-11/2 1-2
Adolescents 12-18 years 4-7 5-9 3-4 3-5 1-2 1-3
Golden rules to live healthy:
1. Start your day with breakfast.
Breakfast fills your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with topping of vegetables and home made chutneys, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain cereals!
2. Get Moving!
It's easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see friends. Take a 10-minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator or elevator. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day.
3. Snack Smart.
Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups�A glass of low-fat milk and a few roasted chanas, fruits and vegetables with home made cream and hung curd with almonds or walnuts. If you eat smart at other meals, cookies, chips and candy are OK for occasional snacking
4. Work up a sweat.
Vigorous work-outs when you're breathing hard and sweating help your heart pump better, give you more energy and help you look and feel your best. Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 20 minutes of aerobic activity, such as running, jogging or dancing. Follow-up with activities that help make you stronger such as push-ups or lifting weights, and then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing.
5. Balance your food choices.
Don't eat too much of one thing.
You don't have to give up food like pizzas, burgers, french fries and ice cream. You just have to be smart about how often and how much you eat. Your body needs nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat and many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and A, iron and calcium from a variety of food. Balancing food choices and checking out the Nutrition Facts Panel on food labels will help you to get all these nutrients.
6. Get fit with friends or family.
Being active is much more fun with friends or family. Encourage others to join you and plan one special physical activity event, like a bike ride or hiking, with a group each week.
7. Eat more grains, fruits and vegetables.
These foods give you carbohydrates for energy, plus vitamins, minerals and fiber. Besides, they taste good! Try whole-wheat cereals like Spaghetti, bread, macroni, noodles and oatmeal are also in the grain group.Bananas, strawberries and melons are some great tasting fruits. Try vegetables raw, on a sandwich or in a salad.
8. Join in physical activities at school.
Whether you take a physical education class or do other physical activities at school, such as intramural sports, structured activities are a sure way to feel good, look good and stay physically fit.
9. Food isn't good or bad.
A healthy eating style is like a puzzle with many parts. Each part or food is different. Some foods may have more fat, sugar or salt while others may have more vitamins or fiber. There is a place for all these foods. What makes a diet good or bad is how foods fit together.
10. Make healthy eating and physical activities fun!
Take advantage of physical activities you and your friends enjoy doing together and eat the foods you like. Be adventurous try new sports, games and other activities as well as new foods. You'll grow stronger, play longer, and look and feel better! Set realistic goals,don't try changing too much at once.
Nutrition for school going children is an important issue as there is an established relationship between sound nutrition and learning. Adolescents are more interested and participate in a host of outdoor activities, which compete with meal times. A general rule of thumb is to eat fresh food about 90% of the time and indulge in junk food not more than 10% of the time. Follow this simple rule, eat healthy and live well!
Written By : Shaloo
