Adolescents are no longer children, yet not quite adults. Amidst this age group’s juggling for self-identity, independence, and busy schedules, snacks are frequent, meals are skipped, eating out is common, and eating junk food-easy. Influenced by their peers and uncomfortable with their growing bodies, adolescent girls might also switch to becoming vegetarians or dieting on a bi-Monday basis.

The shifting and changing food habits of adolescents makes it difficult for them to meet their increased requirements in energy and nutrients. Indeed, depending on how much they exercise and their growth spurt, adolescents need more energy, proteins, vitamins and minerals. A diverse diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, cereals, and legumes is ideal yet not often realistic for this age group. In Lebanon, a study conducted by a group of researchers at the American University of Beirut on dietary patterns of Lebanese found that young adults ate less vegetables and legumes and drank more soft and alcoholic drinks than older Lebanese¹. Although this study did not tackle directly the adolescent age bracket, some light is shed on the consumption patterns of younger Lebanese.

Another study complements these findings: a group of researchers from the St. Joseph University interviewed 385 students aged between 10 to 16 years in Lebanon² and found that only 12% of students get from the diet the recommended amount of calcium! Vitamin D, present in milk (100 IU per cup of fortified milk) and essential for bone growth, was not very popular as well: only 16% of Lebanese students got what they need of vitamin D from the diet! Adolescents are growing tall and need minerals such as 1300 mg of calcium per day, and vitamins, such as 200 IU of vitamin D per day for the rapid growth of their bones. A cup of milk provides 300 mg of calcium, a regular beer contains around 14 mg, and a soft drink: only 11 mg! The amount of calcium in softdrinks is downright depresing, and unfortunatly, soft drinks often steal milk’s stardom! If we had to produce a lebanese movie with adolescents’food intake, milk wouldn’t even make it to the cast list and it would be quite difficult for an adolescent to meet his 1300 mg per day requirement in calcium by drinking soda!

Adolescents also need to eat more iron rich foods such as meat, poultry, and fish. The increased need for iron is due to the muscle and blood volume growth at that age. Young women need even more iron since they start menstruating thus loosing iron in the blood. In Lebanon, around 30% of women were found to be iron deficient in a study conducted by the American University of Beirut in 2003 on 470 women between 15 and 45 years³.

And that’s not all, other vitamins are required for the growth of younger adults. Adolescents often miss out on a simple equation: vegetables and fruits are like going to the bank for vitamins: no vegetables and fruits equals no or little vitamins.

In short, eating meat, giving the hero’s role back to milk, and including fruits and vegetables in daily meals and snacks would be the quick solution to the adolescents diet!

1- Nasreddine L, Hwalla N, Sibai A, Hamzé M, Parent-Massin D. Food consumption patterns in an adult urban population in Beirut, Lebanon. Public Health Nutr.(2006) 9 (2), 194-203.

2- MM Salamoun, AS Kizirian, RI Tannous, MM Nabulsi, MK Choucair, ME Deeb and GA El Hajj Fuleihan. Low Calcium and Vitamin D intake in healthy children and adolescents and their correlates. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 177-184.

3- L Al Khatib, O Obeid, AM Sibai, M Batal, N Adra, N Hwalla. Folate deficiency associated with nutritional anemia in Lebanese women in childbearing age. Public Health Nutr. (2006) 9 (7), 921-7.