Adolescent Nutrition: Teen Challenges and How to Face Them

by Michael Scaccia

Teen nutrition can be very difficult to manage as a parent. Let’s face it, teens in general can be difficult to manage at times.

There are plenty of obstacles that stand in the way of making sure that your teenage is eating healthy:

Teens spend more time out of the house and on their own than younger children. They are making choices for themselves, often based on convenience and the “hip factor”.

You also can’t keep teens away from food in the house. With younger kids, it’s easier to hide food, or keep the cookie jar out of reach. It gets tough when our kids are taller than we are!

Teens just have a tendency to migrate toward junk. Junk food tastes good, and they really aren’t able to understand or relate to the long-term consequences of eating poorly.

There

are several ways that you can make a difference in your teen’s nutrition and overall health:

Keep the junk out of the house.

While you can’t always control what happens outside your house, at least you can regulate what happens within. Don’t buy junk and sugared drinks, and they won’t have access to it. Shop smart and have healthy foods that are easily accessible for snacks.

Bring your child shopping with you.

Teach your child what foods are better for them and why. Show them how to use a food label to help make good choices. Teach them today, so that when they are really on their own, they’ll have a skill that will help them live longer and happier.

Let them see the benefits.

Explain things in terms that they can relate to and

understand. You can tell them that obesity will lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer, but that probably won’t mean much to them today. Tell them that they can feel better about themselves, climb stairs without getting out of breath, and play longer, harder, and better.

Don’t be afraid to tell them what the right thing is to do. Studies show that teens really do pay attention to what their parents say, and that a parent carries more influence with their teen than their friends.

Michael P. Scaccia, MD, FAAP is a physician, author, speaker, and child health expert whose goal is to help families live healthier and more satisfying lives. For more information, visit http://www.ChildNutritionGuide.com

Other Articles:

Is Your Diet Colorblind?
Next time you have a meal, look at your plate - what colors do you see? If its mostly white and brown then your diet might be colorblind! In order to have a healthy diet you need foods from all the food groups and that means a colorful plate. Just eating meat and potatoes won't...

Remembering The Titanic: Top Ten Weight Loss Mistakes Others Make But We Can Avoid
Patrick Henry once said, "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I have no way of judging the future but by the past." Fortunately for us, there are millions of people who have gone before us attempting to lose fat and/or weight, each with...

Improve Your Mental Cognitive Abilities
The Connection Between Brain Inflammation, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease The evidence is overwhelming that sustained inflammation is the driving force of many degenerative diseases. Chronic inflammation is centrally implicated in heart disease, cancer and chronic viral...