Healthy Eating for Teenagers

Healthy eating involves taking control of how much and what types of food you eat. This section has information to help you . . .

• Control your food portions.
• Charge your battery with high-energy foods.
• Avoid pizza, candy, and fast food.
• Stay powered up all day.

Control your food portions

A portion is the amount of one food you eat at one time. Many people eat larger portions than they need, especially when eating away from home. Ready-to-eat meals (from a restaurant, grocery store, or school event) may have larger portions than you need. Follow the tips below to control portions.

When eating away from home,

• Order something small. Try a half-portion or healthy appetizer, like hummus (chickpea spread) with whole-wheat pitas or grilled chicken. If you order a large meal, take half of it home or split it with someone else at the table.
• Limit the amount of fast food you eat. When you do get fast food, say "no thanks" to super-sized or value-sized options, like those that come with fries and soda.
• Choose salad with low-fat dressing, a sandwich with mustard instead of mayo, or other meals that have fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
• Choose grilled options, like chicken, or remove breading from fried items. Avoid meals that use the words creamy, breaded, battered, or buttered.

When eating at home,

• Take one serving out of a package and eat it off a plate instead of eating straight out of a box or bag. "What do all these numbers mean?" explains where you can find serving sizes.
• Avoid eating in front of the TV or while you are busy with other activities. It is easy to lose track of how much you are eating if you eat while doing other things.
• Eat slowly so your brain can get the message that your stomach is full. Your brain needs about 20 minutes before it gets the message.

Charge your battery with high-energy foods

Eating healthy is not just about the amount of food you eat. You need to make sure you're eating the types of food that charge you up. Strive to eat meals that include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat protein, and dairy. More information is below, and you can check out the meal planning tool at the end of this guide.

Fruits and Vegetables

Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables. Dark green, red, and orange vegetables, in particular, have high levels of the nutrients you need, such as vitamin C, calcium, and fiber. Adding spinach or romaine lettuce and tomato to your sandwich is an easy way to get more veggies in your meal.

Grains
Choose whole grains, like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, and oatmeal.
Protein
Power up with lean meats, like turkey on a sandwich, or chicken, seafood, eggs, beans, nuts, tofu, and other protein-rich foods.
Dairy
Build strong bones with fat-free or low-fat milk products. If you cannot digest lactose (the sugar in milk that causes some people stomach pain), choose soy or rice milk and low-fat yogurt.

Avoid pizza, candy, and fast food

You don't have to stop eating these items, but eating less of them may help you maintain a healthy weight. Pizza, candy, fast food, and sodas have lots of added sugar, solid fats, and sodium. A healthy eating plan is low in these items.

Added Sugars

Many foods, especially fruits, are naturally sweet. Other foods, like cookies, snack cakes, and brownies, have added sugars to make them taste better. These sugars add calories but not nutrients.

Solid Fats
Fat is important. It helps your body grow and develop; it is a source of energy; and it even keeps your skin and hair healthy. But some fats are better for you than others.
Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature, like butter, stick margarine, shortening, and lard. These fats often contain saturated andtrans fats, which are high in calories and not heart healthy. Take it easy on foods like cakes, cookies, pizza, and fries, which often have a lot of solid fat.
Sodium
Your body needs a small amount of sodium (mostly found in salt). But eating too much sodium can raise your blood pressure, which is unhealthy for your heart and your body in general.
Processed foods, like those that are canned, frozen, or packaged, often have a lot of sodium. Fresh foods do not, but often cost more. If you can afford to, eat fresh foods and prepare your own low-salt meals. If you use packaged foods, check the amount of sodium listed on the Nutrition Facts label. (Read "What do all these numbers mean?".) Rinse canned vegetables to remove excess salt.
Try to eat fewer than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. This equals about one teaspoon and includes salt that is already in prepared food, as well as salt you add when cooking or eating your food.
Your doctor knows more about your specific needs, so don't be afraid to ask her or him how much sodium you should be eating.

Get Moving

Being physically active may help you control your weight, increase flexibility and balance, and improve your mood. You don't have to do boring exercise routines. You can be active through daily activities, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

This section can help you to . . .

• Be active every day.
• Get outside.
• Have fun with your friends.
• Stay active indoors, too.

Be active every day

Physical activity should be part of your daily life, whether you play sports, take P.E. or other exercise classes, or even get from place to place by walking or bicycling. You should be physically active for 60 minutes a day, but you don't have to do it all at once!

Have fun with your friends

Being active can be more fun with friends or family members. You may also find that you make friends when you join active clubs or community activities. Teach each other new games or activities, and keep things interesting by choosing a different activity each day:

• sports
• active games
• other actions that get you moving, like walking around the mall

Support your friends and challenge them to be healthy with you. You could even take the President's Challenge. Or sign up with your friends for fun, lively events, like charity walks, fun runs, or scavenger hunts.

NOTE: #"This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. The NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings through its clearinghouses and education programs to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. Content produced by the NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts.

The NIDDK would like to thank:
Joshua Kolko, M.D., La Clínica del Pueblo, Washington, D.C.

This information is not copyrighted. The NIDDK encourages people to share this content freely".

Get outside

Choose activities you like

Being physically active does not mean you have to join a gym or do a team sport. You can walk or bicycle around your neighborhood or even turn up the music and dance. Try some of these ideas:

• Shoot baskets.
• Ride your bike (use a helmet).
• Run
• Skateboard.
• Jump rope or use a hula hoop.
• Have a dance party with friends.
• Play volleyball or flag football.
• Move with a video game that tracks your motion.

Many teens spend a lot of time indoors on "screen time": watching TV, surfing the web, or playing video games. Too much screen time can lead you to have excess body fat or a higher weight. Instead, be active outdoors to burn calories and get extra vitamin D on a sunny day.
How to cut back your screen time

• Tape your favorite shows and watch them later to keep from zoning out and flipping through channels.
• Replace after-school TV and video-game time with physical activities in your home, school, or community.
• Gradually reduce the time you spend using your phone, computer, or TV. Challenge your friends or family members to join you, and see who can spend the least amount of time in front of a screen each week.
• Set up a text-free time with your friends—a length of time when you can be physically active together and agree not to send or respond to text messages.
• Turn off your cell phone before you go to bed.

Stay active indoors, too

On cold or wet days, screen time is not the only option. Find ways to be active inside:

• Play indoor sports or active games in your building or home, at a local recreation center, or in your school gym.
• Dance to your favorite music by yourself or with friends.
• If you have a gaming system, choose active dance and sports games that track your movement.​​​​​​​​​

Take Your Time

• Make changes slowly. Do not expect to change your eating or activity habits overnight. Changing too much too fast can hurt your chances of success.
• Look at ways you can make your eating and physical activity habits healthier. Use a food and activity journal for 4 or 5 days, and write down everything you eat, your activities, and your emotions. Review your journal to get a picture of your habits. Do you skip breakfast? Are you physically active most days of the week? Do you eat when you are stressed?
• Know what's holding you back. Are there unhealthy snack foods at home that are too tempting? Is the food at your cafeteria too high in fat and added sugars? Do you find it hard to resist drinking several sweetened sodas a day because your friends do it?
• Set a few realistic goals for yourself. First, try replacing a couple of the sodas you drink with unsweetened beverages. Once you are drinking less soda, try cutting out all soda. Then, set a few more goals, like drinking low-fat or fat-free milk, eating more fruits, or getting more physical activity each day.
• Use the information in this booklet and the following resources to help you. Stay positive and focused by remembering why you want to be healthier—to look, feel, move, and learn better. Accept setbacks—if you don't meet one of your eating or physical activity goals one day, do not give up. Just try again the next day.
• Get a buddy at school or someone at home to support your new habits. Ask a friend, sibling, parent, or guardian to help you make changes and stick with your new habits.

Make healthy habits part of your day

Eating healthy and being active can be difficult because you spend much of your day in school and eat meals that are prepared by others. Be a Health Champion by becoming more involved in your meals and school activities. Here's a checklist to help you work healthy habits into your day.

Be a health champion!

• Each night, pack a healthy lunch and snacks for the next day.
• Go to bed at a regular time every night to recharge your body and mind. Be sure to turn off your phone, TV, and other devices when you go to bed.
• Eat breakfast.
• Walk or bike to school if you live nearby and can safely do so.
• Drink water throughout the day. Avoid sodas and other high-calorie drinks.
• Between classes, stand up and walk around, even if your next subject is in the same room.
• If a recess is allowed at your school, be sure to take a walk, jump rope, or play an active game with friends.
• Be active in gym classes.
• At lunchtime, eat the lunch you packed. If you have lunch money, spend it on healthy options. Avoid sodas, chips, and candy from the vending machines.
• Stay active after school by joining a sports team or dance group. Walk the dog or jump into a neighborhood pick-up game of basketball, soccer, or softball.
• Be involved in the food choices made in your home. Help make dinner and eat with your family.
• Save screen time for after your activities and limit it to less than 2 hours.

Clinical Trials

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct and support research into many diseases and conditions.

What are clinical trials, and are they right for you?
Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for youExternal NIH Link.

What clinical trials are open?
Clinical trials that are currently open and are recruiting can be viewed at www.ClinicalTrials.gov

Make It Work for You

Being healthy sounds like a lot of work, right? It doesn't have to be. This chart will help you plan healthy meals and work healthy habits into your day. Put this on your fridge or in your school locker for quick reminders.

Pick an item from each food category to plan a healthy meal

Fruits and Veggies	Grains	Protein	Dairy
1 banana or apple	1 serving of oatmeal or whole-grain cereal (size of your fist)	1 scrambled or hard-boiled egg	1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk (or substitute soy or rice milk)
1 handful fresh berries or raisins	2 DVD-sized whole-grain waffles or buckwheat pancakes	1 serving of peanut butter (size of a ping-pong ball)	6- to 8-ounce yogurt pack (also high in protein!)
1 serving romaine lettuce or spinach (size of your fist)	2 slices whole-wheat bread	1 handful of walnuts or almonds	1 serving low-fat cottage cheese (size of your fist)
1 handful baby carrots, strips of peppers, or celery sticks	1 whole-grain pita	1 serving of hummus (size of a ping-pong ball)	1 slice of Swiss or provolone cheese
1 cup tomato or vegetable juice	1 whole-wheat tortilla	1 serving of sliced, lean turkey or ham (size of the palm of your hand)	1 stick of string cheese
1 snack pack of fruit salad (in natural juices, not syrup)	1 serving of brown rice (total amount should fit in your cupped hands)	½ can of tuna with mustard or light mayo	1 handful shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
1 serving of tomato-based pasta sauce with vegetables (fits in one cupped hand)	2 whole-grain taco shells	1 serving of black beans (size of your fist)	1 serving of low-fat sour cream (size of a ping-pong ball)
1 serving of steamed broccoli, green beans, or other veggie (fits in one cupped hand)	1 serving of whole-grain pasta (total amount should fit in your cupped hands)	1 serving lean beef, grilled chicken, tofu, or baked fish (size of the palm of your hand)	1 serving non-fat frozen yogurt (size of your fist)

Sample Meals

Breakfast: one banana, a slice of whole-grain bread with peanut butter, and milk

Lunch: a turkey sandwich with cheese, dark leafy lettuce, tomato, and red peppers on whole-wheat bread

Dinner: two whole-grain taco shells with chicken or black beans, low-fat cheese, and romaine lettuce

For more meal ideas and recipes, go to the "TeensHealth" section of http://kidshealth.org

Stay charged up all day

Skipping meals can lead to weight gain. Follow these tips to maintain a healthy weight:

• Eat breakfast every day. It gets your body going. You can even grab something on the go, like a piece of fruit and a slice of whole-grain bread.
• Pack your lunch on school days. If you pack your lunch, you can control the portions and make sure your meal is healthy.
• Eat healthy snacks, and try not to skip meals. See the "Snack smart" ideas above.
• Eat dinner with your family. When you eat with your family, you are more likely to eat a healthy meal, and you can take the time to catch up with each other.
• Be involved in grocery shopping and meal planning at home. If you're involved, you can make sure meals are healthy and taste good.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What do all these numbers mean?

When you read a food label, pay special attention to:

Serving Size. Check the amount of food in a serving. Do you eat more or less? The "servings per container" line tells you the number of servings in the food package.

Calories and Other Nutrients. Remember, the number of calories and other listed nutrients is for one serving only. Food packages often contain more than one serving.

Percent Daily Value. Look at how much of the recommended daily amount of a nutrient (% DV) is in one serving of food. In most cases, 5% DV or less is low and 20% DV or more is high. For example, this label shows that the food has 20% of the calcium you need to eat in one day. We can consider this food high in calcium. Notice, though, that it is also high in sodium (20%).