18 Apr 2011 Teens running on empty
by Kellie Dye
Teenagers seem to be busier than ever these days. They can pack a lot into a 24-hour period. Some may carry a full academic load along with extra curricular activities. Add sports to the mix, and it’s a wonder they find time to sleep. Finding that needed balance of downtime, sleep and eating can be challenging for school-age kids and teens.
Teens are often at high risk for nutritional deficiencies, sleep deprivation and just plain exhaustion. This is the time when they need extra calories, nutrition and sleep. Unfortunately these things suffer with hectic schedules. This is where parents should step in to help plan convenient, healthier meals and snacks.
You’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yes, breakfast is important, but so is lunch and dinner. So many kids and teens skip breakfast for a few extra minutes of sleep. Many skip breakfast because they are “not hungry” in the mornings.
Just so you know, most people will not be hungry for breakfast until they have gotten used to eating breakfast. You don’t magically wake up hungry until you’ve trained your body to get used to food in the mornings.
Lunchtime can be another opportunity to skip a meal to save time. Some kids will just choose a la carte items, such as French fries and a drink. Skipping meals or not eating enough makes it difficult to concentrate. As hunger levels increase, attention spans decrease. Nutrition doesn’t get enough credit for enhancing academic performance, not to mention athletic performance. Expecting kids to maintain hectic schedules and perform well with inadequate food is asking too much.
Teens can be at high risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. With a packed schedule, teens might grab foods poor in nutrition quality such as caffeinated drinks, chips, bars, fast food or candy. It’s easy to come up short on nutrients when you try to exist on these types of foods.
Parents can help teens with time management. Plan meals and snacks based on the schedule for the week. Sandwiches, yogurt, wraps, peanut butter, low fat milk, cereals and whole grains can be some good foods to start with. Any way that you can add fruits and vegetables to meals and snacks would be ideal. Think outside the box when it comes to fast food. Look for fruit options, soups and salads. It doesn’t always have to be burgers and fries.
Most importantly, parents need to model the behavior they would like to see in their teens. If you don’t make breakfast a priority, your teen never will. Keep healthy foods stocked up at home to show that nutrition is a priority. Let them see you eating healthy food.
Think of it this way – planning healthy meals and snacks should be just as important as planning the transportation to and from all of the events in their hectic schedules.
