Nutrition during

Adolescence
Ms Ayesha Malik
  Teenagers make many more choices for themselves than they did
as children.
 They are not fed, they eat; they are not sent out to play, they
choose to go.
 At the same time, social pressures thrust choices at them, such as
Nutrition whether to drink alcoholic beverages and whether to develop their
bodies to meet extreme ideals of slimness or athletic prowess.
during  Their interest in nutrition—both valid information and
Adolescence misinformation—derives from personal, immediate experiences.
 adolescence: the period from the beginning of puberty until
maturity.
 puberty: the period in life in which a person becomes physically
capable of reproduction.
  With the onset of adolescence, the steady growth of childhood
speeds up abruptly and dramatically, and the growth pat terns of
females and males become distinct.
 Hormones direct the intensity of the adolescent growth spurt,
Growth and profoundly affecting every organ of the body, including the brain.
 After two to three years of intense growth and a few more at a
Development slower pace, physically mature adults emerge.
 In general, the adolescent growth spurt begins at age 10 or 11 for
females and at 12 or 13 for males.
 It lasts about two and a half years.
 Before puberty, male and female body compositions differ only
slightly, but during the adolescent spurt, differences between the
genders become apparent in the skeletal system, lean body mass,
and fat stores.
 In females, fat assumes a larger percentage of total body weight,
and in males, the lean body mass—principally muscle and bone—
increases much more than in females
 On average, males grow 8 inches taller, and females, 6 inches
taller. Males gain approximately 45 pounds, and females, about 35
pounds.
  Energy and nutrient needs are greater during adolescence than at
any other time of life, except pregnancy and lactation.
 In general, nutrient needs rise throughout childhood, peak in
adolescence, and then level off or even diminish as the teen
becomes an adult.
Energy and  The energy needs of adolescents vary greatly, de pending on their
Nutrient current rate of growth, gender, body composition, and physical
activity
Needs  Boys’ energy needs may be especially high; they typically grow
faster than girls and, as mentioned, develop a greater proportion
of lean body mass.
 An exceptionally active boy of 15 may need 3500 kcalories or more
a day just to main tain his weight.
 Girls start growing earlier than boys and attain shorter heights and
lower weights, so their energy needs peak sooner and decline
earlier than those of their male peers.
 A sedentary girl of 15 whose growth is nearly at a stand still may
need fewer than 1800 kcalories a day if she is to avoid excessive
weight gain.
 Thus adolescent girls need to pay special attention to being
physically active and selecting foods of high nutrient density so as
to meet their nutrient needs without exceeding their energy
needs.
 Without intervention, overweight adolescents face numerous
physical and socioeconomic consequences for years to come.
 The consequences of obesity are so dramatic and our society’s at
titude toward obese people is so negative that even teens of
normal or below-normal weight may perceive a need to lose
weight.
  The RDA (or AI) for most vitamins increases during the adolescent
years
 Several of the vitamin recommendations for adolescents are
similar to those for adults, including the recommendations for vita
min D.
Vitamins  Vitamin D is essential for bone growth and development. Recent
studies of vitamin D status in adolescents show that as many as
half of adolescents are vitamin D defi cient; blacks, females, and
overweight adolescents are most at risk.
 This information, as well as evidence that adequate vitamin D may
help prevent diseases such as diabetes and cancer, has led to
revised recommendations
 The Ameri can Academy of Pediatrics now recommends doubling
the previous amount, from 5 micrograms per day to 10
micrograms per day.
 Adolescents who do not receive 10 micrograms of vitamin D from
vitamin D–fortifi ed milk (2.5 micrograms per cup) and vitamin D–
fortifi ed foods such as cereals each day should take a vitamin D
supplement of 10 micrograms (400 IU on supplement labels)
 Although drinking one quart of vitamin D–fortifi ed milk will
provide the recommended amount, the majority of adolescents in
the United States drink much less than this
  The need for iron increases during adolescence for both females
and males, but for different reasons
 Iron needs increase for females as they start to lose blood through
menstruation and for males as their lean body mass develops.
 Hence, the RDA increases at age 14 for both males and females.

Iron  For females, the RDA remains high into late adulthood. For males,
the RDA returns to preadolescent values in early adulthood.
 In addition, iron needs increase when the adolescent growth spurt
begins, whether that occurs before or after age 14.
 Therefore, boys in a growth spurt need an additional 2.9
milligrams of iron per day above the RDA for their age; girls need
an additional 1.1 milligrams per day
 Furthermore, iron recommendations for girls before age 14 do not
refl ect the iron losses of menstruation.
 The average age of menarche (fi rst menstruation) in the United
States is 12.5 years. Therefore, for girls younger than the age of 14
who have started to menstruate, an additional 2.5 milligrams of
iron per day is recom mended.
 Thus the RDA for iron depends not only on age and gender but
also on whether the individual is in a growth spurt or has begun to
menstruate, as listed in the margin
 Iron RDA for males:
 9–13 yr: 8 mg/day
 • 9–13 yr in growth spurt: 10.9 mg/day
 • 14–18 yr: 11 mg/day
 • 14–18 yr in growth spurt: 13.9 mg/day
 • Iron RDA for females:
 9–13 yr: 8 mg/day
 • 9–13 yr in menarche: 10.5 mg/day
 • 9–13 yr in menarche and growth spurt: 11.6
 • 14–18 yr: 15 mg/day
 • 14–18 yr in growth spurt: 16.1 mg/day
  Adolescence is a crucial time for bone development, and the
require ment for calcium reaches its peak during these years
 Unfortunately, low cal cium intakes among adolescents have
reached crisis proportions: 90 percent of females and 70 percent
of males aged 12 to 19 years have calcium intakes below
recommendations.
Calcium  ♦ Low calcium intakes during times of active growth, espe cially if
paired with physical inactivity, can compromise the development
of peak bone mass, which is considered the best protection
against adolescent fractures and adult osteoporosis.
 Increasing milk products in the diet to meet calcium rec
ommendations greatly increases bone density.
 Once again, however, teenage girls are most vulnerable, for their
milk—and therefore their calcium—intakes begin to decline at the
time when their calcium needs are greatest.
 Furthermore, women have much greater bone losses than men in
later life.
 . In addition to dietary calcium, bones grow stronger with physical
activity. However, because most high schools do not require
students to attend physical education classes, many adoles cents
are not as physically active as healthy bones demand.
 Calcium AI for males and females: 9–13 yr: 1300 mg/day