Section 3

Content 6: Meal
Planning for
Different Groups
Adolescents
 Focus point

❖ Overview of adolescents
❖ Nutrient requirement for;

Adolescents

❖ Adolescent female
❖ Athletic adolescent

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 Overview of Adolescents

Adolescents is a period of rapid growth and body development,

and nutrients requirements increased at this stage.

The hormones for adulthood start to be produced during

adolescence. They may cause skin disturbances, therefore,
adolescents should eat plenty of fresh foods and vegetables and
avoid fatty foods which may aggravate these conditions

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Nutritional Needs Of Adolescents

Several factors can determine the nutritional needs of

an adolescent. This is a stage of rapid growth and in
most cases heightened activity.

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 Nutritional Needs for Adolescents

The following nutrients must form part of an

adolescent’s diet.

Carbohydrates: This is needed to provide energy

especially active athletic teenagers.

Protein is needed for growth and repair of body

tissues. It also provides energy,

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 Nutritional Needs for Adolescents

The diet should provide sufficient protein and

sufficient iron,

Iron is important for girls to prevent anemia from

developing on the onset of menstruation.

About 45% of the adult-sized skeleton forms during

adolescence, so plenty of Calcium rich foods and
Vitamin D should be eaten.

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Essential Nutrients for Adolescents

Iron is needed to help

the increase of red blood
cells and muscle tissues
and for growth of bones

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Essential Nutrients for Adolescents

Zinc is needed for growth and

formation of new tissues.

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Essential Nutrients for Adolescents

Calcium and Vitamin D are

needed for growth of the
skeleton

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“
Adolescent
Female
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Adolescent Female

They would be experiencing growth spurts at this

time, therefore, Calcium would be required for
building and strengthening of bones’

Growth in height and expansion of hips requires

Calcium for of bone structure.

Critical for delaying or preventing the onset of

osteoporosis
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Adolescent Female

Encourage Iron rich foods to meet the

increased needs for menstruating females
( to replace iron loss in blood) and for
males ( as their muscle mass develops).

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Athletic Adolescents

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Athletic Adolescents
The energy intake of athletic
adolescents should provide adequate
support for growth and development
needs, while maintaining the desired
energy expenditure for exercise and
performance goals.

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 Athletic Adolescents
● They should be encouraged to adjust carbohydrates intake to
match daily energy demands.
● Both protein and carbohydrates are important for recovery
after training and competition.
● Nutritious food choices provide a great recovery option, such as
milk-based drinks, yogurt with fruits, or a meat and salad wraps.
●
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Athletic Adolescents
● Fat intake should be in accordance with public health
guidelines. This means that fat should contribute
20-35% of total energy intake, with no more than
10% of total energy coming from saturated and
trans fats.
●

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Athletic Adolescents
● If an athlete is finding difficult to meet their
energy needs, increasing the unsaturated fat
content of the diet can help address the issue due
to its energy density.
●

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Athletic Adolescents
▰ Calcium requirements for adolescent athletes are no
different from that of non-active adolescents,
however, requirements are greater than that of
adults due to growth.

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Athletic Adolescents
● Vitamin D. Most of this vitamin is obtained through
exposure to sunlight rather than through dietary
sources. Athletes should monitor their Vit D status ,
and correction through supplementation may be
necessary to ensure optimal performance and
maintenance of bone health.
●
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●
Tips for Helping Eating in Teens

Invite teen to:

❖ help plan menus,

❖ grocery shopping,
❖ choose new foods
❖ Find healthy recipes
❖ Cook
❖ Clean up after meals
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Tips for Helping Eating in Teens

Encourage teens to make their own snacks and meals, such as

breakfast.

Watch for signs of eating disorders: extreme concern or fear about

body weight and shape, refusal to eat, excessive exercising, laxative
abuse, bingeing ( out of control eating), vomiting after eating.

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Types of meals
Breakfast

■ Fruit/ Fruit Juice

■ Cereals ( Cooked/ Ready to eat)
■ Protein (Easy to cook)
■ Carbohydrates (Quick bread/Ground provision)
■ Hot Beverage

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Types of meals
Lunch/ Dinner

❖ Protein
❖ Carbohydrates
❖ Vegetables ( Green leafy, yellow Veg)
❖ Beverage (Optional)
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Types of meals

The Multi-mix Principle

❖ Double Mix ( Staple + Legumes OR Staple + food from animals

❖ Triple mix (staple+legumes+food from animals Or staples+food
from animals+vegetables
❖ Quadruple Mix (staple+legumes+food from animals+vegetables

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