Tips for Healthy Diet Plan for Teenagers

Submitted by Serena Mason on June 8, 2010

A healthy diet plan for teenagers is one which is balanced and comprises of healthy and diverse foods from each of the essential food groups. To promote good health, it is very important to have a good and balanced diet. There is a popular adage that you are what you eat. However, with good foods, good eating habits are also a must. A growing body of research suggests that having a balanced diet alone cannot really solve the purpose.

It is also important to promote a healthy eating routine so that the metabolism is regulated properly. If you have the habit of consuming unhealthy foods, the metabolic functions of the body continue to deteriorate. Such bad habits can also lead to an increasing build up of toxins in the body which eventually cause diseases.

Teenagers are prone to preferring fast foods over other, more nutritious alternatives.

Teenagers, often due to cultural or social factors, ignore health and consume a lot of foods which contain high amounts of preservatives and Trans fats. Obesity and other childhood diseases like diabetes are on the rise and teenagers are most susceptible to them because of their bad eating habits. Most teenagers are not aware that their increasing body mass upsets the Body Mass Index and increases their risk of developing severe diseases like osteoporosis, cancers, cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

Teenagers have a lot of social and peer pressures and therefore the topic of healthy eating should be broached upon very tactfully. It is always easier to follow these habits yourself before you expect your teens to start following them.

The simplest thing that you can start off with is to plan the meals well in advance so that you do not end up skipping any of them.

All meals are important, however the breakfast is the most important meal of the day and is also often the most ignored meal. If you do not have a heavy breakfast, you are most likely to over eat throughout the day. This is because when you skip breakfast, you remain hungry and are more likely to consume energy dense foods which are not very good for you. To encourage healthy eating amongst your teenage children, prepare dishes that they would like but go in for healthier preparations. For example, instead of French fries, offer them baked wedges. Foods can be stir fried or sautéed instead of being deep fried. This way, they taste almost the same but have much less calories and are healthier. Switch to diet sodas at home and most likely, over a period, your children will too. Encourage them to drink unsweetened fruit juices instead of colas and sodas.