Motivating teenagers to eat well

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Motivating teenagers to eat well
Anita Bean BSc R Nutr
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Covers

• What are teenagers actually eating and drinking ?
• What motivates teenagers?
• What practical advice
• Can you give?

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Lifestyle risk factors

• Frequent consumption of acidic foods
• Grazing/ snacking
• Fewer family mealtimes
• Milk replaced by fizzy drinks

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Patterns of eating

• Children are consuming a secret mountain of junk
  food on the way to and from school
• More than half of secondary school pupils buy
  treats equivalent to 11 bags of sugar
• School Food Trust (2006)
• Most children are eating a dangerously
  unbalanced diet high in saturated fats, sugar and
  salt, and low in fruit and vegetables
• National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young
• people aged 4 to 18 yrs (Gregory et al, 2000)

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What are teenagers actually eating?

• 25 try to eat as little as possible
• 42 regularly skip breakfast
• 50 have fizzy drinks every day
• 10 eat fast food at least once a day
• 83 dont eat 5 a day
• 33 argue with parents over what they eat
• Sugar magazine/ FSA survey, 2006

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What are teenagers drinking?

• Over 80 of 14yr olds regularly consume soft
  drinks (Al-Dlaigan et al, 2001)
• 1 in 10 have 3 or more soft drinks a day
• UK children drink around 200 litres of soft
  drinks per head

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Soft drinks Vs milk

• Teenagers now consume twice the volume of soft
  drinks as they do milk, whereas the opposite was
  true in the late 70s

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Soft drinks and acid erosion

• There is a link between the frequent consumption
  of fruit squash and carbonated drinks and the
  occurrence of acid erosion (Harding et al 2003)

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Acid erosion in children

• 30 of 12 and 15 year-olds have tooth surface
  loss
• (Chadwick et al 2006 National Surveys of Child
  Dental Health,UK. Br Dent J., 200 379 - 384)

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The main culprits of acid erosion

• Fruit juice
• Squash / Fruit flavoured drinks
• Cola and other carbonated drinks (inc. diet
  drinks)
• Fruit
• Jam, ketchup, pickle
• Confectionary, lollies

• Also important are
• Frequency
• Oral retentiveness

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What motivates teenagers?
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Role models
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Role models
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Teen concerns

• (1) Weight
• 50 have been on a diet
• 10 always on a diet
• To look thin is the main reason for changing
  their diet
• (Sugar magazine/ FSA, 2006)

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Teen concerns

• (2) Appearance
• Teens were equally worried about their appearance
  as they were about their school work/exams
• (BBC survey, 2003)

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What practical advice can you give teenagers?
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Eating the right foods will

• Help you look good
• Give you energy to
• Play sport/ exercise
• Go out with friends
• Get up off the sofa!
• Perform well in sport
• Keep your mind sharp

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Myth Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight

• Skipping meals is not a good way to lose weight.
• Eat three small meals a day and a couple of
  healthy snacks (such as a piece of fruit, a
  low-fat yoghurt or a bowl of cereal) in between.
• Getting active is the best way to make sure you
  burn off as much as you take in.

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Myths Diet drinks don't damage your teeth

• Even diet drinks can damage your teeth, if you
  drink too many of them.
• If you decide to drink diet drinks, do your teeth
  a favour and stick to mealtimes.
• Water (tap or bottled, fizzy or still) or milk
  are the best things to drink if you want to look
  after your teeth.

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Snack attack

• If you feel peckish, don't dip into the cookie
  jar - get a load of these...
• Peanut butter sandwich
• Instant oat porridge
• Bowl of wholegrain cereal and milk
• Flavoured milk/ milk shake
• Carton of yoghurt or rice pudding
• Nuts
• Fresh fruit salad
• Rice cakes with cheese
• Houmous with raw vegetable sticks and pretzels
• Scoop of frozen yoghurt

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Food on the run

• Cheese on toast
• Chunky oven chips and beans
• Soup
• Noodles and stir fry
• Wraps, sandwiches
• Jacket potato with beans
• Pasta with tomato/ veg sauce

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Ask a question (1)

• The grazer
• How many snacks do you normally have?

• Try to limit snacking
• Replace acidic snacks with vegetable sticks,
  cheese, nuts, yoghurt
• If you have acidic snacks follow with a glass of
  water to help wash away acid

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Ask a question (2)

• The fast fooder
• How often do you drink soft and carbonated drinks?

• Try not to sip acidic drinks all day long
• Drink them as quickly as possible
• Confine to mealtimes
• Dont swish them around
• Use a straw

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Ask a question (3)

• The healthy-eater
• Do you eat fresh fruit?

• Follow with cheese, a glass or milk or a yoghurt
• Chew sugar free gum after acidic foods or drinks

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Summary

• High consumption of sugary and
• acidic foods and drinks
• Teenagers motivated by healthy role models
• Concerned about weight, appearance, and energy
• Tailor advice to their concerns
• Advise what they can eat, not what they cannot eat

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Motivating teenagers to eat well
Anita Bean BSc R Nutr