it important to have healthy habits especially for a teenager?

Healthy eating during adolescence is important as body changes during this time affect an individual’s nutritional and dietary needs. Teens are becoming more independent and making many food decisions on their own. Many teens have a growth spurt and an increase in appetite and need healthy foods to meet their needs.

What is healthy eating?

Eating healthy is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and is something that should be taught at a young age. The following are some general guidelines for helping your teen eat healthy. It’s important to discuss your teen’s diet with their healthcare provider before making any dietary changes or placing your teen on a diet. Discuss these healthy eating recommendations with your teen so they can follow a healthy eating plan:

• Eat 3 meals a day, with healthy snacks in between.
• Increase fiber in the diet.
• Decrease the use of salt.
• Drink water. Try to avoid drinks that are high in sugar, including soda and sports drinks. Fruit juice can have a lot of calories, so limit your teen’s intake. Whole fruit is always a better choice. 
• Eat balanced meals.
• When cooking for your teen, try to bake, broil, roast, or grill instead of fry.
• Make sure your teen watches (and decreases, if necessary) their overall sugar intake.
• Choose fruit or vegetables for a snack.
• Decrease the use of butter and heavy gravies.
• Eat more chicken and fish. Limit red meat intake and choose lean cuts when possible.  

Healthy eating during adolescence.

Healthy eating during adolescence is important as body changes during this time affect an individual’s nutritional and dietary needs. Teens are becoming more independent and making many food decisions on their own. Many teens have a growth spurt and an increase in appetite and need healthy foods to meet their needs. Teens tend to eat more meals away from home than younger children. They are also heavily influenced by their peers. Meal convenience is important to many teens and they may be eating too much of the wrong types of food, like soft drinks, fast-food, or processed foods.

Also, a common concern of many teens is dieting. Girls may feel pressure from peers to be thin and to limit what they eat. Both boys and girls may diet to “make weight” for a particular sporting or social event.

These are some helpful considerations as you prepare meals for your teen:

• Arrange for teens to find out about nutrition for themselves by providing teen-oriented magazines or books with food articles and by encouraging them and supporting their interest in health, cooking, or nutrition.
• Take their suggestions, when possible, regarding foods to prepare at home.
• Experiment with foods outside your own culture.
• Have several nutritious snack foods readily available. Often, teens will eat whatever is convenient.
• If there are foods that you do not want your teens to eat, don’t bring them home