Nutrition in adolescence is very important since this period of human's life

1. University of Kalamoon
Nutrition Department
Dr. Louay Labban

3. Puberty Early Middle Late
adolescence adolescence adolescence
Female 8-11 years 12-14 14-17 18-21
Male 9-11.5 years 12-14 14-17 18-21

4.  Nutrition needs should be determined by the
degree of sexual maturation and biological
maturity instead of chronological age .
 Unhealthy eating behaviors common among
adolescence including frequent dieting, meal
skipping, high consumption of foods high in
fats

5.  Concrete thinking and abstract reasoning
abilities do not develop fully until late
adolescence or early adulthood

6.  Adjustment to a new body image, adaptation
to emerging sexuality
 Concrete thinking, early moral concepts
 Strong peer effect

7.  Establishment of emotional separation from
parents
 Expansion of verbal abilities, adjustment to
increased school demands
 Increased health risk behavior, sexual
interests, early vocational plans

8.  Personal identity, further separation from
parents
 Complex thinking
 Increased impulse control, emerging social
autonomy, vocational capability

9.  50% of ideal body weight is gained during
adolescence
 Growth spurt in 3-6 months
 Girls will gain approximately 18 lbs
( 8.3 kg ) year
 Weight gain slows during late adolescence,
will gain around 14 lbs ( 6.3 kg )

10.  Lean body mass falls from 80% to 74%
 Body fat increases form 16% to 27%
 During puberty, females experience 44%
increase in lean body mass and 120% of body
fat mass each year.

11.  Males gain 20 lbs ( 9 kg ) per year during
puberty
 Fat decreases in males during adolescence to
reach 12%
 By age 18, more than 90% of skeletal mass
has been formed
 A variety of factors contribute to the
accretion of bone mass including genetics,
hormonal changes, smoking and nutrition

12.  Eating patterns and behaviors of adolescents
are affected by many factors:
 Peer influence
 Parental modeling
 Food availability
 Food preference

13.  Cost
 Convenience
 Personal and cultural beliefs
 Mass media
 Body image

14.  Eating habits of adolescents are not static
 They fluctuate throughout adolescence in
relation to psychological and cognitive
development
 Adolescents lead busy lives
 Many involved in extracurricular sport or
academic activities
 This leave little time to sit and eat meal
 Snacking or meal skipping are common

15.  Almost all adolescents consume one snack
per day ( range 1- 7 )
 One study showed that adolescents ate 18.2
meals and 10.9 snacks in a week
 Snacks account foe 25% to 33% of daily
energy intake
 Snacks consumption has risen during the past
decade

16.  The occurrence of meal skipping increases as
adolescents mature
 Breakfast is the most commonly skipped
meal
 29% of female adolescents tend to eat
breakfast
 Skipping breakfast can dramatically
decreases intakes of energy, protein, fiber,
Ca, and folate
 25% of adolescents skip lunch

17.  As adolescents mature, they spend less time
with the family and more time with peer
 Eating away from home
 Females eat 1/3 of meals away from home
 Fast food accounts for 33% of food eaten

18.  Eating at fast food restaurant has a direct
bearing on the nutritional status of the
adolescents
 Fast foods are high in fats
 Low in fiber and nutrients

19.  Vegetarian diets are consumed in 1% of
adolescents
 Vegetarian diets are consumed for many
reasons
 Vegetarian adolescents found to be shorter
and leaner than omnivores during childhood
and early puberty age
 Menarche occurs 6 months later in vegetarian
females

20.  Vegetarian adolescents are taller or as tall as
the omnivores but generally leaner
 When well-planned, vegetarian diets provide
health benefit to adolescents such as
complex CHO intake , high vitamin intake
and protein
 With supplements from small amounts of
animal foods such as milk and its products,

21.  Vegetarian diets should include adequate fats
and essential fatty acids ( DHA, EPA )

22. Type of vegetarian diet Food excluded
Semi- or partial vegetarian Red meat
Lacto-ovo-vegetarian Meat, poultry, fish, seafood
Laxctovegetarian Meat, poultry, fish, seafood and eggs
Vegan ( total vegetarian ) Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy
products ( may exclude honey )
Macrobiotic Meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, seafood, fish
( fish may be included in some
macrobiotic vegetarians)

23. Food groups Lcato-ovo-vegetarians Vegans
11 years 11 years
2200-2800 kcal 2200-2800
Breads, grain, cereal 9-11 10-12
Legumes 2-3 2-5
Vegetables 4-5 3-5
Fruits 4 4-5
Nuts, seed 1 4-6
Milk, yogurt, cheese 3 0
Eggs ( limit 3/week ) ½ 0`
Fats , oils ( added ) 4-6 4-6
Sugar ( added teaspoons ) 6-9 6-9

24. Food source Alph-lenolenic acid, g
Flaxseed, 2 tb 4.3
Walnuts, 1 oz`` 1.9
Walnut oil, 1 tb 1.5
Canola oil, 1 tb 1.6
Soybean oil, 1 tb 0.9
Soybean, ½ cup cooked 0.5
Tofu, ½ cup 0.4

25.  Most diets do not match the dietary
guidelines
 1% of teens consume diets that meet the
recommendations for all food groups
 45% of teens meet recommendations for one
group or more
 7% of males and 18% of females adolescents
do not meet any of the recommendations

26. Male % Female %
Dairy products 49 22
Fruits 17 19
Vegetables 50 46
Grains 43 21

27.  Increases in lean body mass, skeletal mass
and body fat during puberty result in energy
and nutrient needs that exceed those of any
other point of life
 Energy and nutrient requirements
correspond with the degree of physical
maturation

28.  Influenced by:
 Activity level
 BMR
 Increased requirements to support pubertal
growth

29.  Influenced by many factors
 RDA for protein intake is:
 9-13 years old 0.95/g/kg/day
 14-18 years old 0.85/g/kg/day
 When protein is inadequate, growth, sexual
maturity delay and reduced accumulation of
lean body mass

30.  Primary source of energy
 From fruits, vegetables, whole grains and
legumes
 55-60% of total energy
 < 10% form sweeteners but adolescents
consume about 16% of total energy for soft
drinks

31. Ounces per day Adolescents %
> 26 oz per day 22
13-25 oz per day 28
0.1 12 oz per day 32
0 oz per day 18

32. Life-stage Calorie kcal Protein
group grams
Age, years Kcal/day Kcal/ cm Grams/day Grams/cm
Females
11-14 2200 14.0 46 0.29
15-18 2200 13.5 44 0.27
19-24 2200 13.4 46 0.28
Males
11-14 2500 15.9 45 0.29
15-18 3000 17.0 59 0.34
19-24 2900 16.4 58 0.33

33.  AAP Recommends 0.5 g/kg/day of fiber
 Or 15.5-34.5 g/ day for 10-18 years old males
 16-28.5 g/day for 10-18 years old females
 National data shows consumption is:
 11.5-15.4 g/day for males
 10-14 g/day for females
 Because low intake of fruits and vegetables

34.  Essential for growth and development
 National cholesterol education program
NCEP recommends no more than 30% of
total energy should come from fat
 < 10% from saturated fat
 DRI recommendations:
 4-18 years old should consume 25-35% of
total fats

35.  Teens consume around 33% of total energy
from fats
 Over 12% from saturated fats

36.  adequate intake is important for growth and
development
 Important for bone mass
 Females have the greatest capability of
absorbing calcium at time of menarche then
decreasing after
 By age 24 for females and 26 for males
calcium accretion is almost nonexistent

37.  DRIs for 9-18 years is 1300 mg/day
 Adolescents females consume 536-815
mg/day
 Adolescents males consume 681-1146
mg/day
 Milk is the best source followed by cheese,
ice cream and frozen yogurt
 Consumption of soft drinks may displace the
consumption of more nutrient dense
beverages such as milk and fortified juices

38.  Growth at this stage increases blood volume
 Menarche increases the need for iron

39. Group Ca P Mg Vit D Iron B1 B2 B3
mg/d mg/d mg/d mcg/d mg/d mg/d mg/d mg/d
Males
9-13 1300 1250 240 5 8 0.9 0.9 12
14-18 1300 1250 410 5 11 1.2 1.3 16
Females
9-13 1300 1250 240 5 8 0.9 0.9 12
14-18 1300 1250 360 5 15 1.0 1.0 14

40. Group B6 B9 B12 B5 B7 Vit A Vit C Vit E Se
mg/d mg/d mg/d mg/d mcg/d mcg/d mg/d mg/d mcg/d
Males
9-13 1.0 300 1.8 4 20 600 45 11 40
14-18 1.3 400 2.4 5 25 900 75 15 45
Females
9-13 1.0 300 1.8 4 20 600 45 11 40
14-18 1.2 400 2.4 5 25 700 65 15 55