

Adolescent Girls and Nutrition
We all know that eating nutritious food is very important at any age but it is specifically important for adolescents. This is because it is the only time when your body is still growing. And this is important that you need to eat enough of good quality food and in proper quantity for meeting your nutrition as well as energy requirements. Of course, being a teenager can be fun but it can equally be difficult as the shape of your body changes
Adolescence is the period of transformation between childhood and adulthood. It is the period which provides the opportunity for the improvement of the body as well as correcting the unwanted nutritional practices. Not only this but also this is the same period when there is the onset of puberty, usually between the age group of 10 to 14 years in girls. Let us put it this way, adolescence is understood by the growth spurt as this is the time when you grow very fast. Not only this but also you will be experiencing some physical changes which will affect the nutritional needs of the body. On the other hand, there will also be some changes in your lifestyle which can drastically impact the food choices as well as eating habits. The nutritional needs of adolescent girls are therefore important to support the physical growth of the body as well as to prevent future health problems. So the need of the hour of all the parents is to pay attention to the nutritional needs of the adolescent girls.
How nutrition affects adolescent girls?
Why nutrition is important for adolescent girls?
As mentioned above, any sort of nutritional deficiency faced during the critical period of life can severely impact the future health of the adolescent which can even result in delayed sexual maturation. Do you know the rapid increase in the physical changes of an adolescent girl is directly proportional to the nutritional needs of the person? Secondly, the growth spurt which occurs at this age period creates a high demand for nutrients as well as energy. Physical growth, as well as nutritional status, are totally dependent one another for getting the full growth potential.
Nutrition of the adolescent girl is specifically important. But the main point that one should understand is that the undernutrition in adolescents usually ignored by their families or by herself. Adolescence is such a time where the body prepares for itself the nutritional demands of pregnancy as well as lactation that they may experience in later life. Following are the negative impacts that adolescent girls face due to undernutrition:
● Reducing the ability to learn as well as work at maximum productivity.
● Stopping the healthy development of future children.
● High risk of poor obstetric outcomes for teen mothers.
● The slow rate of sexual maturation as well as growth.
● Due to the lack of calcium, the teen suffers from low bone strength.
It is also claimed that the children who are born too thin and short are likely themselves to be underweight. Therefore there is a need to increase energy, iron, protein, calcium and minerals during adolescence.
Energy
Protein
Fats and oils
Calcium
Iron
Folate
Nutrition-related problems for adolescent girls
Generally, poor eating habits at the time of puberty lead to various health problems such as osteoporosis, obesity as well as delay in sexual maturation. During this period teens have the risk of chronic diseases related to obesity as well as eating disorders.
Eating disorders
Eating disorders such as under-eating and overeating can result in serious health impacts. Adolescent girls generally have the fear of becoming fat which results in overly restrictive eating habits.
Obesity
Obesity is proportional to increase risk of heart disease as well as diabetes. Doctors have linked the rise of obesity to the increase in the intake of junk food and lack of physical exercise. Therefore the regular practice of yoga and avoiding greasy meal is important for promoting healthy weight in adolescents.
So the need of the hour is consumed low-fat foods which include sources of monosaturated as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids such as lean meat, oils, nuts as well as poultry. Having said that the adolescent girls need to limit the intake of hidden saturated fatty acids which include fast foods and biscuits. We hope you found this article useful, Feel free to reach us for any queries.
Ms Joyeeta Bhattacharyya
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Ms Joyeeta Bhattacharyya#molongui-disabled-link
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Ms Joyeeta Bhattacharyya#molongui-disabled-link
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Ms Joyeeta Bhattacharyya#molongui-disabled-link
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Ms Joyeeta Bhattacharyya#molongui-disabled-link