Preview

Contemporary Issues in Food and Nutrition for Adolescents

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
829 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Contemporary Issues in Food and Nutrition for Adolescents
Contemporary Issues in Food and Nutrition for Adolescents

The importance of establishing health promoting practices during childhood and adolescence has long been recognized by nutritionists and other health professionals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate further the issues relating to adolescents' diets and contributing factors. Contributing factors include the increase of fast food consumption, unconventional meal patterns and lack of exercise. During adolescence, the influences on eating habits are numerous. The growing independence of adolescents, increased participation in social life and a generally busy schedule of activities have a great impact on food intake.�In the September 2007 issue of 'Health Promotion International', a survey of 18,486 secondary school students at 322 schools across all Australian states (except Western Australia) has found that a significant proportion of students fall short of current, national dietary and physical activity recommendations for teenagers.

A new study suggests that as teens enter adulthood, they are more likely to skip meals, resulting in a very unconventional meal pattern. Breakfast is frequently neglected and omitted more often by teenagers as they enter high school as they see it as an unnecessary hassle. These diets are likely to be bizarre and unbalanced. Though appetite is great, meal times tend to be irregular due to pre-occupation with school, other social activities or even a part time job. Therefore snacking in between meals is common. Skipping breakfast, for example, can lead to greater levels of hunger later in the day, causing overeating, or the choosing of heavy foods that fill you up faster, but may lack nutritional values. For teenage girls, lunch is usually skipped as a way of controlling weight. As adolescents go through puberty, they are bound to feel more pressured by their peers about the shape and size of their body, sexual development, and their general appearance. Due to this

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Healthy eating is of great importance as it has a drastic effect on one’s life, and more importantly on the lives of children. Providing appropriate nutrition and educating elementary children of the significance of proper nutrition are essential factors for proper growth and development, chronic disease prevention, and the achievement of academic success (Pittman et al., 2012). Without proper nutritional guidance, children are susceptible towards falling into long lasting poor eating habits that may lead to a number of health risks, including obesity (Steele et al., 2011). Obesity and other health issues are becoming significant problems that keep increasing and have started to become a visible issue in younger children (Steele et al., 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of promoting healthy eating to children in elementary school and the role schools play in the choices children make. This paper also provides solutions to the health issues discussed above by identifying the barriers to healthy eating. More specifically, how these barriers in the education system can prevent elementary school children from learning about healthy eating and how schools can overcome these barriers by adding healthy eating programs to promote optimum health and well being.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    y8tiuytiu

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages

    claims that the prevalence of fast food and the lack of healthier food alternatives is causing an epidemic of teenage obesity…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Adolescents is broad in information for the different stages of a child’s life. The guidelines refer to what is considered ‘normal eating’ which…

    • 1318 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    These unhealthy choices made by schools are some that may affect the youth's’ wellness, health, and increase obesity. In a day, there are three main meals essential to maintain proper wellness; students spend…

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Emerging Adulthood

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The past three decades in the world have seen the number of young people with obesity increase by nearly a triple. This is according to reports from the National Center for Health Statistics (Eisenberg, Radunovich, & Brennan, 2013). Obesity is rarely caused by genetic or hormonal defects, and the main reason for the high occurrence of obesity, therefore, is the high intake of calories than an individual can burn. As much as the major reasons for the overall increase in the number of overweight and obese adolescents is not known, the most common theory is that the society has become more successful. This implies that adolescents…

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now that the decision on food has changed the proper eating methods for teens have changed. These individuals fall into two groups. The first group is the individuals who eat healthily and maintain a healthy lifestyle due to miscellaneous events or sports. Or, they are unaware of their intake and become overwhelmed by the choices and secondary sources them supply.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Risk of obesity in teens

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Recent surveys prove that, this health problem is affected more in young people compared to adults as current adults are conscious about the risk of obesity. But teenagers are unaware about dangers and further problems regarding obesity. One third of all teens between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight. So younger people are now developing health problems that used to affect only adults, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. In some cases obesity has been identified to be hereditary. Some people have a genetic tendency to gain weight more easily than others because their bodies burn calories slowly. Although genes strongly impacts body size and type, the environment also plays a role. Teenagers today may be gaining weight because of unhealthy food choices like fast foods and family habits like eating while watching television instead of eating around a table. The high calorie, low nutrient snacks, beverages, bigger portions of food and less active life styles are all contributing to the obesity. Some teens turn to food for emotional reasons, such as when they upset, anxious, sad, stressed out, even bored and they often eat more than they need. Obesity can weaken physical health, social disabilities, and can cause depression. The health…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Teens Eating Healthy

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages

    You walk into an ordinary Chinese buffet and there is a salad bar on your right and the deep fried chicken drizzled in sweet and sour sauce, fried egg rolls, fried noodles and crab Rangoon on your left. If you’re a typical teenager, you will most likely make your way to the left side of the restaurant because we are just simply tempted to eat unhealthy foods that satisfy our taste buds. This has to stop because most of us need to try something called eating healthy. Healthy eating is not only important for your diet, it's also important as a part of your personal well-being. Eating healthy can drastically improve your physical fitness, allow you to feel better about yourself, and do wonders for your health. Unfortunately, most of us are not interested in healthier eating habits; instead, we tend to munch on anything that satisfies our hunger. There are several key reasons to why teens develop unhealthy eating habits; most of it can be attributed to lack of planning and awareness, but don’t worry; you no longer have to be a victim of poor eating habits.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The authors suggest that teenagers should be discouraged from dieting and taking drastic measures to control their weight and instead should be encouraged to eat a healthy diet and be more physically active in the long term.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Fast Food

    • 4593 Words
    • 19 Pages

    Objective: To assess the association between the consumption of fast food (FF) and body mass index (BMI) of teenagers in a…

    • 4593 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disorders such as obesity and anorexia are derived from a lack of nutrition and exercise.Having a balanced diet attributed with 8 hours of sleep and physical as well as mental exercise, is the lifestyle to lead if you're a growing adolescent with a developing body.What you consume as a teenager effects your health and appearance when you reach adulthood.It is thus important to follow a dietary plan daily of protein,having 2-3 servings of meat,poultry,eggs,nuts and fish with 2-3 servings of milk and dairy products..Vitamins are very important for the growth and maintainment of our bodies.We should have up to 3-5 servings of vegetables such as leafy, green vegetables with 2-4 servings of fruit such as citrus fruit.Carbohydrates are essential in our diets because they provide sustained energy release.6-11 servings of carbohydrates from the bread,cereal,rice and pasta group should be consumed daily.Fats and sweets such as chocolates should be eaten sparingly.Water is a fundamental in our diet and 6-8 glasses of water should be drunk to clean out toxins and avoid dehydration.Exercise is very important as well.One should physically exercise for at least 1 hour daily to avoid obesity and be at your optimum best everyday.Talking about problems is also essential to avoid stress-related disorders or illnesses thus maintaining your mental well-being.Always wash your hands before and after eating,going to the toilet,playing outside and after doing most activities as this is essential to fight bacteria.Foods must be washed as well.Medical experts such as dentists,doctors and specialists should be visited annually so that teenagers can have a full-body analysis to ensure that they are healthy.Following this procedure to a health lifestyle will ensure you a healthy,prosperous…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Teen Diet and Nutrition

    • 2305 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Teen Diet and Nutrition Nutrition is important for everyone. The bottom line is, nutrition provides our bodies with energy to function. Nutrition makes major parts of the human body function and work properly, such as the brain and muscles. Nutrition also helps the body be more coordinated. Good nutrition contributes to everything that human beings do; the human body cannot function without it, and would not run well without good nutrition. Nutrition is vital for everyone but it is especially crucial for teenagers. Nutrition is especially important for teenagers because the teenage years are a critical growth period for boys and girls as they are becoming more adult like. During the teenage years, the person’s body is growing significantly and changing. The body change in many aspects and the spectrum of changes are large. From bone growth to hormonal changes the body changes in many ways. Good nutrition can help teenagers in two major aspects: Achieve optimal growth and reduce the risk of developing chronic disease such as diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases.…

    • 2305 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Breakfast is the first taken meal in the morning of the day before leaving home which can be any taken food or drink except caffeinated ones (Gajre, Fernandez, Balakrishna, & Vazir, 2008). Breakfast was agreed to be the most important meal in the day as it can lower levels of plasma cholesterol, increase vitamins absorption levels, and reduce cardiovascular diseases' risk. Skipping breakfast is getting spread among school students as it becomes a worldwide phenomenon that leads to many psychosocial problems and health changes in different aspects of students' lives (Albashtawy, 2015). A study, which done on secondary school students, showed that 16.5% of the students in the sample were breakfast eaters and 83.5% were breakfast skippers (Khanna, Dharap, & Gokhale, 2016). Skipping breakfast among school students…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Teenagers’ getting overweight has become an inexorable trend. Society could change as time goes by. A social change can happen in various areas of human life, such as cutting down the size of the family domestic, advancement of economic status, improvement of high technology and modification of dietary habit. Social change is the main factor that causes teenagers’ obesity.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Exercise Is Important

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    For too long now the health of our countries teenagers has been in server decline. Research this week from the University of York showed that 29% of the countries younger generation are obese and a breath taking 12% of under sixteens are suffering from a heart related illness as a consequence of their weight. Are you one of them? Are you one of the the teenagers who goes home after school each day and scoffs your face full of fatty foods? Are you one of the teenagers who say you're in love with football but never actually play it: instead choosing to use a games console? Are you one of the teenagers who has nightmares about performing even the smallest amount of exercise? Well not to worry! This article aims to make you see the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics