Nutrition during adolescence, when biological and physiological development takes place, is one of the last investment opportunities an individual can make for his or her future years. Research shows that eating habits and behaviors acquired during adolescence; It is important to protect the person from many chronic diseases in the future.
Adolescence is the period of development that begins in adolescence and ends in adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescence as between the ages of 10 and 19, and youth as between the ages of 15 and 24, while young people include the entrepreneurial age group between the ages of 10 and 24. Recently, in the adolescent health and health life cycle, this time an additional 5 years are divided into three categories: early adolescence (10-14 years), late adolescence (15-19 years) and young adulthood (20-24 years). While abnormal body growth during adolescence can manifest with overnutrition as overweight and obesity and can be used as a proxy for nutritional status, undernutrition can manifest as stunting and/or nutrient deficiency without changes in body size (so-called hidden hunger).
Adolescence is a time of increased freedom, characterized by decreased parental control of meals and snacks. Peer pressure replaces parental authority and poor eating habits can often occur during the teenage years. Skipping meals (especially breakfast) becomes more common, and consuming healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, lean meats, and fish can lead to descriptions such as "mama's boy" among children of this age.
Adolescence is also the time when weight obsession is triggered, especially in young women, and the period when individuals engage in self-restrictive diets is the time of onset for eating disorders. Finally, a number of chronic diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and celiac disease, can begin during adolescence. These diseases may be further complicated by a combination of increased metabolic demands associated with dietary restrictions and chronic inflammation, increased requirements for growth and development, and nutritional deficiencies.
The d� Irregular nutrition programs; It is prone to deficiencies in energy, protein, calcium, iron, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin B6. Imbalances in energy intake, in particular, can lead to both obesity and eating disorders. Adolescent women who do not consume enough calories for regular exercise may develop a clinical manifestation characterized by low energy (i.e., an energy deficit), menstrual cycle irregularities (amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea), and decreased bone mineral density. Sudden bone fractures may also occur frequently in these individuals.
What should be the appropriate nutrition program for individuals in adolescence?
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Try to eat 3 main meals and 3 snacks a day with healthy snacks. This habit will keep you away from unexpected sweet cravings, sudden hunger and the desire to consume junk food.
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Increase fiber in the diet and reduce salt consumption. The best way to increase dietary fiber is to consume vegetables and salads. When consuming salad is not very appealing, try flavoring your salad. You can add some baked chickpeas, lemon and corn on it.
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Drink plenty of water. Try to avoid drinks with high sugar content. Ready-made fruit juices may contain too much simple sugar, so their consumption should be limited. Homemade fresh fruit juices can be preferred, provided that they are not too frequent, but eating whole fruit is always a better choice.
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Eat balanced meals. Consuming very high-fat foods causes imbalance between meals. While eating fried foods once a week may be tolerable, eating fried foods for lunch every week and choosing boiled vegetables for dinner may seem healthy, but it is not balanced.
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When cooking for your teenage child, prefer the frying method. Instead of baking, choose baking or pan-frying methods.
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Make sure your child can control his or her sugar intake (and reduce it if necessary).
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Eat fresh fruit or vegetables for a snack. You can try homemade healthy alternatives, especially for snacks. Maybe it's fun to eat dates alone. It may not sound good, but adding sugar-free hazelnuts or peanut butter to dates may seem a little more enjoyable.
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Place your nutritional habits at the center of your life. Instead of buying chips while watching a movie, choose baked spicy potatoes. Instead of oily and heavy chip sauces, choose homemade sauces with yoghurt and mint.
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Fish with high omega 3 content is important for brain development, especially in children of this age. You can consume fresh fish in season 2-3 days a week. For other periods of time, canned fish or fish oils may be preferred as recommended by a physician.
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Dairy group is very important for daily calcium intake and bone health. Milk, yoghurt, buttermilk or kefir can be consumed in 3-4 portions a day, depending on daily calorie needs.
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During this period, it is very harmful to go on crash diets and implement wrong nutrition programs for individuals with weight problems. For this reason, please do not forget to get support from a nutritionist.
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