Teenage Nutrition: Never more important

Teenagers are on my mind, Dr. Google. Teenage nutrition has never been more important. I was working with a group of female gymnasts, ages from 6 to 16. They were in a summer group where we fed them lunch. After observing them for several days I became curious about their dietary habits. Every student did a food diary which was analyzed. I had noticed that the young girls followed the older in practice and lifestyle habits, including eating. The analysis showed that the average daily caloric intake was a total of 600 Calories. That’s pretty tough for growing bodies and brains to cope with. Plus it could seriously set them up for an accident, immune deficit, and much more.
Adolescence, to further complicate things, is a period of physical and psychological change. It is the most dramatic physical transition period following infancy.
Teenagers, obviously everyone, need the right amounts of nutrients to support growth and development, biological changes,and increased activity. Because micronutrients are necessary in converting food into energy and in building body tissues, lowered vitamin and mineral levels during these years can limit adolescents in achieving their full biological potential. The quality of a teenager’s nutritional intake may have a great impact on his or her health as an adult. For instance, osteoporosis or infertility. Even more important, eating habits developed at this time may last a lifetime. What we eat, and when, also sets the scene for the microbiome/biota, which we are learning may actually be our first brain, not our second. Hmmm… pg. 2 tomorrow.