Helping Your Teen Maintain a Healthy Diet

Kids face a myriad of issues as they go through the teenage years. Social pressures, academic pressures, and rapidly changing bodies make this time challenging for both teens and their parents. An extremely important and yet often over-looked aspect is proper nutrition.

According to a recent study published in The Journal of Adolescent Health, 70% of US teens eat fewer than two servings of vegetables per day, 55% eat fewer than two servings of fruit, and 47% eat fewer than two servings of dairy foods per day. These three vital categories of food provide vitamins, iron, calcium, and fiber that kids need for the rapid growth they are undergoing during adolescence, and kids are not eating enough of them.

Not only are teens in this country undernourished, they are also, like the rest of the population, growing increasingly obese. The number of kids with weight problems is skyrocketing - there are now triple the number of overweight kids in the US than there were in 1980, near a total of 90 million in 2000.

The health implications are alarming both while they are teenagers and as they become adults. If things don't change, today's teenagers will grow up to be the most obese adults in American history, sentencing a generation to higher rates of related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even osteoporosis.

While away from home, teens generally lack healthy options. Instead, they are inundated with opportunities to eat foods packed with empty and/or hidden calories. School vending machines dispense sodas and packaged snacks. Cafeteria lunches (although improving) are often fat laden and fiber-free. Finally, after school activities often put them in the vicinity of fast food chains.

One poor choice: Soda. Soft drink consumption has increased over the last decade and studies show that the more soda a teenager drinks, the more likely they are to be overweight. Pop can also lead to lower bone density and add to the risk of osteoporosis later in life since it contains phosphoric acid that can inhibit teenager's bones from absorbing calcium. And drinking soda instead of milk can lower calcium intakes.

Regardless of the choices available, teens also eat based on what their perceived peer group is eating. Media and advertising influence strongly what teens want to eat with advertising for food that is rarely nutritious. But don't despair - you have more impact on their health than you might think.

Simply insuring that your kids eat three evening meals per week at home with you can benefit their nutritional status. A study in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that teens that ate with their families more frequently consumed less soda, less saturated fat and more fruits, vegetables and grains. The kids increased their overall intake of fiber, calcium, folate, iron, vitamins B-6, B-12, C and E. The study also found that families that have a history of eating meals together appear to show a decreased risk for teens developing bulimic symptoms. And surveys have found that 74% of adolescents enjoy eating with their families.

When time constraints make eating together more than three meals a week impossible, you can still influence your teens' health by stocking up on healthier choices. According to a different study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, kids often find lack of good food at home a barrier to healthful eating. The study also noted that kids actually desire the help and encouragement of their parents in making healthy choices.

Teens offered the following suggestions on improving their eating habits: taking healthful foods with them to school, removing junk foods from the home so that they were not able to give in to momentary cravings, and getting more information (from parents, a doctor or a dietitian) on how to eat better.

Current research shows that as a parent you do still have some control over your child's health. Eating meals with your teenage children as often as possible, offering healthy snacks at home and providing foods when they go out, limiting soda, and teaching them how to cook are all useful ways to help teens stay on the right track.

Ellen Shanley and Colleen Thompson have written a book for teens called Fueling the Teen Machine (Bull Publishing, 2001; $12.95). The authors are both nutrition faculty at the University of Connecticut, and moms (they have 5 children between them ages 5-18!). If your child has a weight problem, their Overcoming Childhood Obesity (Bull Publishing, December 2003; $16.95) is a practical guide for parents on identifying overweight in their kids and addressing related issues related through various life stages (i.e. preschool, school age, and teenage). It lays strong emphasis on getting the family "back to the table" at mealtimes, noting the better nutrition in family meals along with the benefits of increased family time together. Also provided are sections on meal planning and a month's worth of dinner menus with recipes. Rather than "putting kids on diets," the emphasis is on family lifestyle changes including better food choices and increased physical activity.

The following snack recipes, which are perfect for teens to make for themselves when they get home from school, are from Fueling the Teen Machine.

Fruit and Nut Sandwiches
by Cindy Connor, RD, Millbrook, NY
Serves 4

Ingredients
1/3 cup dried fruit, chopped
1/4 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp lemon juice
4 slices whole wheat bread

Method
Combine first four Ingredients in a small bowl. Spread onto bread. Cut into diagonals.

Mudd Dip
by Carolyn Brennan, Providers Nutrition Network, Plainville, CT
Serves 6.

Ingredients
15-1/2 ounce can kidney beans or cannelini beans
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cumin
2 tsp minced onions
2 tsp parsley

Method
Drain beans (reserving the liquid). Place the beans, vinegar, chili powder, and cumin in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid as needed. Stir in the onions and parsley. Serve with whole wheat crackers or vegetable sticks.

Quesadillas
by Jordan French, student, Regent District 17, Higganum, CT
and Marjorie Wheeler, teacher, Westbrook High School, Westbrook CT
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 - 8 inch flour tortillas
6 tsp butter
1-1/2 cups Monterey jack or mild cheddar cheese, shredded
1 - 4 ounce can of green chilies chopped
6 Tbsp salsa
6 tsp sour cream

Method
Heat a cast iron griddle or skillet over medium high heat. Spread butter lightly on one side of each tortilla. Place one tortilla, butter side down on the hot skillet. Sprinkle cheese and chilies on the tortilla. Add anther tortilla on the top of the cheese and chilies, buttered side up. Cook until browned, turn and cook on other side. Repeat with other tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 6 wedges. Top with salsa and sour cream.

Spinach Dip for Veggies
by Cindy Connor, RD, Millbrook, NY
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
2 cups fresh spinach, washed dried and chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
assorted vegetables of choice

Method
Mix all ingredients until well combined, serve with vegetables as a dip or use as a spread.