Importance of healthy diet for teens

The stage in human development that lies between childhood and adulthood is known as teenage. Teenage is in fact the age of growth and development of mind as well as body and usually during teen years the function of a number of body’s system is found at its peak. A healthy diet is important for the people of all age groups but during teens the importance of healthy diet increases manifold as a growing body and developing mind require sufficient food.

If the diet of teenagers is not proper and healthy, they may have to face problems like coronary diseases, obesity, anemia and hypertension. Tiredness and shortness of breath are signs of anemia in teens and this disease can be prevented by taking iron rich foods. Teenagers are suggested to lower down the use of fatty foods as they cause obesity that leads towards hypertension and coronary heart disease. Such food as rich with fiber must be an important part of teenagers’ diet as less intake of fiber can cause intestinal cancer in later life. Milk, eggs and meat must be 20% part of teenagers‘s diet while fruits grain and vegetables must comprise the rest of it.

Three meals a day should be taken by teens. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and it plays an important part in physical and emotional development of a teenager. Teenagers are often inclined towards junk foods that are saturated with unhealthy fats. Similarly, fast food always tempts the teenagers and they often throng fast food restaurants. Teenagers must realize that these kinds of foods may satiate their taste buds but these foods are not useful for good health. A teenager can take such foods once in a while but it’s not a healthy act to make these foods a part of daily diet. Teenagers also thoughtlessly want to have soft drinks these days fruit juices are better option but it’s not a trendy item in teenagers.

Similarly, excessively salty and carb foods are also very harmful if taken frequently. Besides obesity carb foods also causes dental problems and diabetics.

Few suggestions for a healthy diet for teenagers are as follow.

Take three meals a day.
Don’t consume excessive amount of fat and include a limited quantity of meat and milk products in your daily diet.
Always prefer fresh fruits juices to soft drinks.
Don’t consume excessive salt and carb foods.
Try to know what you should eat before exercise.

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