Nutrition and Teens: A Guide for Parents

Family members play an important role in helping teens to become healthier. It is much easier to cook, shop, and prepare tasty and nutritious meals and snacks when everyone is working on the same goals.

Here are some nutrition and wellness tips for you and your family:

• Be a good role model. Teens are influenced by what they see, so it is important for family members to follow a healthy lifestyle. If the entire family is active and eating well, teens are likely to follow.
• Keep healthy foods in the house. If nutritious foods are available, your family is likely to make healthier choices. Stock the kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer with nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products (yogurt, cheese, and milk), and whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat cereal, and whole grain bread). Consider having a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen table and place healthy snacks in the front of your refrigerator and pantry.
• Grocery shop together. Plan a trip to the grocery store with your teen. Start by making a list of the foods you will need to buy. This will help keep you on track when you are at the store. Be sure to include items for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and treats. Choose foods from all the food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy proteins). This way, your family will have all the ingredients for healthy eating.
• Cook and eat meals together. Learning how to cook is an important life lesson. Involve your teen with preparing healthy meals. Instead of frying foods, use healthier ways to prepare foods such as baking, grilling, steaming, or microwaving. Eating together may be challenging because of family members busy schedules and commitments, which may often occur during meal times. Try your best to make eating meals together a priority. Talking and connecting with your teen is an important part of family time and it will also help slow down the pace of the meal to prevent overeating.
• Eat healthy portion sizes. People often eat all the food on their plate regardless of hunger. Provide a range of foods including protein, whole grains, and vegetables. Try serving a well-balanced plate that is about ½ vegetables, ¼ protein, and ¼ grain, such as pasta, rice, potatoes, or bread. If your teen is still hungry, then she can have an additional serving of the nutritious foods provided.
• Eat at home most of the time. Fast food is higher in fat, salt, and calories than most meals prepared at home. Also, portion sizes at fast food and other restaurants are usually too large, and can lead to weight gain. Limiting the fast food meals you eat as a family will improve your health and the health of your teen.
• Watch for hidden calories in drinks. Drinks such as juice, regular soda, and sports drinks are high in calories but are not very nutritious or filling. Drink mostly water or buy sugar-free beverages such as Fruit20®, Crystal Light®, sugar-free seltzer, and diet soda. Drinking high-fat or sweetened milk also adds excess calories, so choose low-fat plain milk (skim or 1%).
• Have treats in moderation. Extreme dieting or fasting can be dangerous and is not successful for long term weight control. Healthy eating involves balancing nutritious foods with occasional treats. Having treats in the house can be very tempting for some people, so talk to your teen about what feels comfortable to them. It may be better for your family to go out for treats, or buy them in single serving packages.
• Make small behavior changes. Permanent changes in health happen with small steps, not with strict dieting. Focus on making concrete small changes, such as drinking less regular soda and juice, eating more fruits and vegetables, or eating less fast food. Making small changes as a family can lead to great health benefits.
• Select healthy snacks and meals. Help your teen select healthy snacks for after school and meals when eating away from home. Buy healthy portable backpack snacks (such as a piece of fruit, a granola bar, or trail mix) so your teen won’t buy a candy bar at the convenience store after school, or pack a healthy lunch for your teen to take school so she won’t be tempted to buy the cafeteria pizza and soda.