EATING HABITS

Healthy eating habits among teenagers

Stephanie Carbonell

NUR3666- Evidenced- Based Nursing and Research for Global Health Care

Healthy eating habits among teenagers

Introduction

Teenagers' eating behavior is distinct from that of other age groups. This is a historical novelty, because only in conjunction with the freedoms that children and young people are granted, they can easily develop an age-related food culture. Unlike in previous decades adolescents can today choose their own food. They thereby influence the eating habits of the family especially in the western countries like US, Germany, France, etc. In addition to this, it happens partly because of the youth culture of our society, and adolescent eating behaviors impact on general food culture. Thus, the public consumption of snacks and the use of convenience products in the home are now widely popular. This study would aim not only to know the eating habits of children and teenagers, but also provide useful and clear information to promote healthy eating habits.

Thesis Statement:

Healthy eating habits among teenagers can help in building a healthy society and it is a means of making appropriate use of economic resources as eating traits developed during teenage probably continue throughout a person's life.

Discussion and Analysis

Food is one of the most beautiful sides of life. But for those who do not pay attention to maintain a certain balance, the palate can be a real problem. Wrong eating habits lead to obesity and usually last about feeling unwell.

In recent decades, especially in Western countries, the availability food has reached almost the entire population. The extraordinary progress of the food technology and biotechnology, the cold chain and transport has allowed people to consume around all types of edible items throughout the year. This change facilitates consumer access to food designed more comfortable for the preparation and use thereof, which influences considerably in the evolution of our eating habits. Food has many functions. For example, eating not only provides for saturation and supply of nutrients, but also creates cultural, social and personal identity. Basically, these functions are the same for all age groups. In teen-age, however, food has a different priority than in adulthood. Characteristics of the food ate by teenagers are primarily the refractions through the age-related developmental tasks. That is, it goes the way one eats to be relieved from their parents, to have distinctiveness and social positioning. Likewise, a gender-typical eating behavior is manifested in this age period. It is observed that many young people are only interested in their age-specific perspective of their diet and take effect according to their eating behavior. However, they lack the necessary capacity-building and more frequently to implement a health-promoting diet for them (Gough, 2006).

In developed countries dietary patterns characterized by an overeating consumption, which exceed the recommendations, set out in energy and nutrients for the whole population. It follows a diet rich in protein and animal fats and considerably decreased consumption of carbohydrates. Changes in eating habits in teenagers are conditioned mainly by the models of family structure increasingly dominant as the one-child families, single parents ...