Weighing In: What Should My Teenager Eat?

Question: I am worried that my teenage daughter is not eating a healthy diet, what should she be eating?

Heather: I know it's not easy to monitor a teenager's diet! Teens are increasingly independent and frequently dine out with friends instead of at home with the family. Unfortunately, when they aren't under the watchful eye of mom and dad, teens don't always make the healthiest food choices. Eating out with friends, stopping at fast food restaurants and eating out of vending machines all lend to poor eating habits in teens. In fact, statistics show that teenager's diets are high in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar.

This is particularly concerning because the obesity rates among children and teens continue to increase. Research shows that almost 20 percent of teens aged 12 to 19 are overweight, which means they are at higher risk for serious diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Teaching your teen to make healthy food choices when eating away from home can not only help prevent obesity but can also help her feel energized, grow, build strong bones and stay alert in class.

Adults play an important role in teaching children and teens the benefits of healthy eating and physical activity. However, it is not always easy to know what to say and how to approach this topic with your child. Below are a few common areas for improvements in teenager's diets and suggestions for ways to promote proper nutrition for your daughter.

Balanced Diet

A healthy diet is a well-balanced one that includes all of the food groups. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are a great guide to use when teaching your daughter which foods should make up the bulk of her diet.

The dietary guidelines recommend a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and whole grains, such as whole wheat breads, rice, pastas and whole grain cereals. You should also encourage your teen to eat lean meats like white meat chicken without the skin and fish rather than higher fat varieties. It is also important to limit your total fat intake and focus on healthy fats like olive, canola and peanut oils. However, fat does play an important role in the body so make sure you your daughter understands that some types of fats are healthy.

Breakfast of Champions

Studies have shown that children who eat breakfast are more alert and perform better in school. You might be thinking "easier said than done" and I understand. I remember being a teenager and I always chose a few extra minutes of sleep over sitting down for breakfast. So try to work with your daughter to come up with healthy breakfast options that she can grab on her way out the door. Try some of these healthy selections:

• Whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and banana slices
• Low-fat yogurt and berries
• Low-fat yogurt with low-fat granola
• Hard boiled egg and whole-wheat toast

Build Strong Bones

Calcium is so important for teenagers, particularly girls, because they are building bone mass. We only lay bone mass until age 30, which is the age when our bones are their absolute strongest. After that our bone mass slowly diminishes. So the more bone mass we lay while we are younger, the stronger our bones will be throughout our life. Unfortunately research shows that teens aren't getting enough calcium, which is needed to build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis later in life.