A Teenager’s View On Diet
As a mother of three, I find myself around a lot of teens lately and I have come to learn one thing that is true of most of them…. they have no idea what is healthy when it comes to eating. I shouldn’t be surprised as I find that many adults don’t either. It’s the whole thing of they think they know but really, they don’t know what they don’t know – ya know? Now, don’t get me wrong, I get that the developmental stage of the teen years also comes with the thinking of “It won’t happen to me,” or “I’ll deal with that later” or “I can do this because I am young” but what I have realized is that while those may apply to the food choices they make to a degree, they are also operating on some serious misconceptions that they have no doubt learned somewhere.
The first one is one I have heard more than once. It is the misconception of fat or being overweight being the only unhealthy thing poor food choices can do to you. I recently heard one of my child’s friends stating that they could eat fast food every day and be fine because they are skinny. It is true, this child is skinny but with a diet of only chicken nuggets, French fries and chocolate, they are bound to have other health problems down the line if not sooner.
I have heard countless other teens (and adults) making declarations or plans to exercise so that they can eat a couple of doughnuts or a half a bag of cookies. This is viewing food and health as the calories in/ calories out model and also viewing food on a pretty serious punishment/reward spectrum which can lead to eating disorders and more. The calories in/ calories out model, while applicable and accurate in a laboratory does not apply to the real world where other variables and influences come into play. In other words, we know that 500 calories of brussels sprouts are not the same thing for your body as 500 calories of gummy bears. The type of food we put into our bodies has a dramatic effect on the body in the form of the different chain reactions it causes at a cellular level. These two items for example have a dramatically different effect on your blood sugar, your gut health, your hormone health, and even your neurological health to name a few.
I think to teens and a lot of adults the picture of health is being skinny. This problematic thinking opens not only the potential for eating disorders but takes the focus off whole body health and focusing on healthy choices to maintain or develop good health. It takes only the variable of weight into account. While it is not healthy to be overweight and certainly not obese, it is also not healthy to be skinny with a diet high in processed foods and there are in fact a lot of unhealthy skinny people.
So, how do you overcome this with a teen or with yourself? First and most importantly, make it clear that the focus is on being healthy and making healthy choices. Do things that enable and encourage your teen or yourself to make healthy choices.
Second, it is important to make changes as a family and not to expect one person in the family to improve while everybody else gets a pass. So, all the junk food / highly processed food needs to leave the house and it does not need to come back. This is a great opportunity for growth in food preparation and cooking and the understanding that taste buds can and do change. If your teen learns to cook and prepare food, they will have the ability to eat healthy - as the only way to completely control the ingredients in your food and therefore your health, is to prepare your own meals. If you can pull this off, you have just given your child the gift of a better chance at good health and that gift lasts for their entire life.
Thirdly, save the desserts and treats for special occasions. Desserts are a wonderful part of life and should not be excluded but they also aren’t a daily or weekly thing.
Finally, if you think your child may have an unhealthy relationship with food, in the form of an eating disorder, I strongly advise you seek professional help from a psychologist and/or psychiatrist.
Remember, good health habits and changes take time, and nobody is perfect. Keep focusing each day on becoming a little bit better than you were the day before and before long, you will have made a bunch of small steps that add up to one big different outcome! To learn more on how to become healthier as an individual, or as a family, visit the website (www.thehealthandwellnessnp.com) and subscribe to receive blog posts, updates and new information from The Health and Wellness NP!