Adolescent

 It is a period of rapid growth that causes major changes. It tends to begin between
the ages 10 and 13 in girls and between 13 and 16 in boys.
 Bones grow and gain density, muscle and fat tissue develop and blood volume
increases.
 Sexual maturity occurs: boys voices change. Girls experience the onset of menses;
and both may experience acne.
 Acne is not caused by specific foods but by overactivity of the sebaceous glands of
the skin.
 Food habits

Adolescent are imitators, like children, but instead of

imitating adults, adolescent prefer to imitate their peers and
do what is popular.

Adolescents eating habits can be seriously affected by busy

schedules, part time jobs, athletics, social activities and the
lack of an available adult to prepare nutritious food when
adolescent are hungry or have time to eat.
 Calorie and Nutrient Needs

• Because of the rapid growth, calorie requirements

naturally increases.
• Boys calorie requirement tends to be grater than girls
because boys are generally bigger, tend to be more
physically active, and have more lean muscle mass than
do girls.
• Girls need more iron than boys because of menstration.
• Adolescence is a stressful time for most young people.
• They are unexpectedly faced with numerous physical
changes; an innate need for independence; increased
work and extracurricular demands at school; in many
cases, jobs and social and sexual pressures from their
peers.
• For many teens, such stress can cause one or more of
the following problems
 Anorexia Nervosa

• A psychological disorder more common to weomen than

men. It can begin as early as late childhood but usually
begins during the teen years or the early twenties.
• It causes the client to drastically reduce calories, causing
altered metabolism, which results in hair loss, low blood
pressure, weakness, amenorrhea, brain damage and even
death.
• Causes of anorexia is unclear.
• Someone with this disorder has an inordinate fear of being
fat.
• Some anorexics have been overweight and have irrational
fears of regaining lost weight.
• Some may want to resemble slim fashion models and have a
distorted body image where they see themselves as fat even
though they are extremely thin.
• Some fear of growing up
• Many are perfectionist overachievers who wants to control
their body.
• It pleases them to deny themselves food when they are
hungry.
• Young women usually set a maximum weight for themselves
and become expert at “counting calories” to maintain their
chosen weight.
• They also often exercise excessively to control or reduce their
weight. If the weight declines too far, the anorexic will
ultimately die.

• Treatment requires:
• Development of strong and trusting relationship between the
client and the healthcare professionals involve in the case.
• That the client learn and accept that weight gain and a change
in body contours are normal during adolescence.
• Nutritional therapy so the client may understand the need
for both nutrients and calories and how best to obtain them.
• Individual and family counseling so the problem is
understood by everyone.
• Close supervision by the healthcare professionals.
• Time and patience from all involved.
 Bulimia
• First called bulimarexia, bulimia nervosa is a more
recently recognized eating disorder than anorexia
nervosa.
• Bulimia nervosa is characterized by gorging on food
followed by one of several extreme behaviors in attempts
to rid the body of food and weight.
• The adolescent suffering from bulimia nervosa eating
abnormally large amounts of food, (known as binge
eating) and regularly forcing her bowels to empty by
taking laxatives (called purging) or voluntarily vomiting.
• They are said to fear they cannot stop eating.
• They tend to be high achievers who are perfectionist,
obsessive and depressed
• They generally lack a strong of sense of self and have a need
to seem special.
• They know their binge purge syndrome is abnormal but also
fear of being overweight.
• Bulimia is not a life threatening, but it can irritate the
esophagus and cause electrolyte imbalances, malnutrition,
dehydration, and dental carries.
• Treatments usually includes limiting eating to mealtimes,
portion control, and close supervision after meals to prevent
self induced vomiting.
• Diet therapy helps teach the client basic nutritional facts so
that he/she will be more inclined to treat the body with
respect.
• Psychological counseling will help the client to understand
his fears about food
• Group therapy can also be helpful
 Overweight

• It is particularly unfortunate because it is apt to diminish the

individual self esteem and consequently can exclude him/her
from the normal social life of the teen years.
• The cause of overweight is difficult to determine. Heredity is
believed to play a role
• Overfeeding during infancy and childhood can be a
contributing factor also.