Adolescent Nutrition

Adolescence is the stage in which children transition into becoming adults and takes place between the ages of 10-18 in females and 12-20 in males. This is a time when the person undergoes many physical, emotional, and intellectual changes that are all regulated by various hormones that are in the body. Because of the development taking place in their bodies, proper nutritional intake in vital to successful growth and therefore many adolescents are vulnerable to developing nutrition related problems. In addition to it being important for influencing proper growth and development, proper dietary intake during this period is also imperative because it is an investment in helping adolescents establish proper health practices as they enter adulthood. There are several problems associated with adolescent nutrition including iron deficiency anemia, low calcium intakes, high blood cholesterol, eating disorders, and dental caries. First, iron deficiency, one of the most common issues of adolescence. Because females are beginning menstruation, they lose iron in their lost blood every month. In males, the increased blood volume and hemoglobin concentration in the blood used for muscles and sexual development requires increased iron intake. Females particularly have been found to be low in iron because they consume less calories and less meat than males. Low calcium levels are another area of concern in the adolescent time. During this time of development calcium is needed to help build bone mass and adolescents need a minimum of 1300 mg of calcium a day to keep up with bone growth. Adolescents, especially girls who are on low calorie diets, or who consume other beverages instead of milk are especially at risk for being low in calcium, an issue which can later lead to osteoporosis. Third, adolescents are at risk for developing high blood cholesterol if they do not practice proper nutrition especially if they regularly consume foods that are high in saturated and Trans