Why pre-teens and teenagers need healthy food

Teenagers go through big physical changes in puberty. They need extra nutrition to fuel these physical changes, which means they need to eat healthy food.

Your child’s level of physical activity and stage of development determine exactly how much healthy food they need. But you’ll notice that your child has a bigger appetite during puberty, which is their body’s way of telling them to eat more.

What is healthy food for pre-teens and teenagers?

Healthy food for pre-teen and teenage children includes a wide variety of fresh foods from the 5 food groups:

• vegetables and legumes
• fruit
• cereals and grain foods
• dairy and dairy alternatives
• meat and meat alternatives.

Each food group has different nutrients, which your child’s body needs to grow and work properly. That’s why we need to eat a range of foods from across all 5 food groups.

Fruit, vegetables and legumes

Fruit, vegetables and legumes give your child energy, vitamins, anti-oxidants, fibre, and water. These nutrients help to protect your child against diseases later in life, including heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

Encourage your child to choose fruit and vegetables or legumes at every meal and for snacks. This includes fruit, vegetables and legumes of different colours, textures and tastes, both fresh and cooked.

Wash fruit and vegetables to remove dirt or chemicals, and leave on any edible skin, because the skin contains nutrients too.

Some pre-teens and teenagers don’t like eating a lot of fruit and vegetables. You can help by being a healthy eating role model. If your child sees you eating a wide range of vegetables and fruit, your child is more likely to try them too.

Cereals and grain foods

Cereals and grain foods include bread, tortillas, flatbreads, pasta, noodles, breakfast cereals, couscous, rice, corn, quinoa, polenta, oats and barley. These foods give your child the energy they need to grow, develop and learn.

Choose wholegrain options whenever you can. Grain foods with a low glycaemic index, like wholegrain pasta and breads, will give your child longer-lasting energy and keep them feeling fuller for longer.

Dairy and dairy alternatives

Key dairy foods are milk, cheese and yoghurt. These foods are good sources of calcium and protein.

In puberty, your child needs more calcium to help them reach peak bone mass and build strong bones for life. So encourage your child to have different kinds of dairy each day – for example, drinks of milk, cheese slices and bowls of yoghurt.

If your child doesn’t eat dairy, it’s important for them to eat dairy alternatives that are rich in calcium – for example, calcium-fortified foods like soymilk, cereal and bread, and other calcium-rich foods like tofu, kale, bok choy, nuts, seeds and tinned fish with bones. Not all dairy alternatives are fortified with calcium, so make sure to read food labels.

Meat and meat alternatives

Meat includes lean beef, veal, lamb, pork, goat, kangaroo, chicken, turkey and fish.

Meat alternatives include eggs, beans, lentils, chickpeas, falafel, tofu and nuts.

All these foods are rich in protein and important for your child’s growth and muscle development, especially during puberty. These protein-rich foods also have useful vitamins and minerals like iron and omega-3 fatty acids, which are particularly important during adolescence:

• Omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish help with your child’s brain development and learning.
• Iron fuels your child’s muscle growth and increase in blood volume. Children who’ve started having periods need extra iron.

Protein-rich foods from animal sources have zinc and vitamin B12 too.

If your child is thinking about choosing a vegetarian, vegan or other special diet, it’s a good idea to speak with a GP or dietitian. They can help you make sure your child’s diet is well balanced and has all the nutrients your child needs.

Try to include a few different food groups at every meal and snack. Have a look at our illustrated dietary guidelines for pre-teens 9-11 years, illustrated dietary guidelines for teenagers 12-13 years and illustrated dietary guidelines for teenagers 14-18 years for more information about daily food portions and recommendations. You can also speak to a dietitian if you have questions about your child’s eating.

Healthy drinks for pre-teens and teenagers

Water is the healthiest drink for your child. It’s also the cheapest. Most tap water is fortified with fluoride for strong teeth too.

Reduced-fat milk is also a good drink option for pre-teens and teenagers. It’s rich in calcium, which is good for bone development.

Foods and drinks to limit

Encourage your child to limit the amount of ‘sometimes’ food they eat. This means your child will have more room for healthy everyday foods.

‘Sometimes’ foods include fast food, takeaway and junk food like hot chips, potato chips, dim sims, pies, burgers and takeaway pizza. They also include cakes, chocolate, lollies, biscuits, doughnuts and pastries.

These foods can be high in salt, saturated fat and sugar, and low in fibre. If pre-teens and teenagers regularly eat these foods, it can increase their risk of overweight and obesity and other health conditions like type-2 diabetes.

Pre-teens and teenagers should limit sweet drinks like fruit juice, cordials, sports drinks, flavoured waters, soft drinks and flavoured milks. Sweet drinks are high in sugar and low in nutrients.

Too many sweet drinks can lead to unhealthy weight gain, obesity and tooth decay. These drinks fill up your child and can make them less hungry for healthy meals.

Foods and drinks with caffeine aren’t recommended for pre-teens and teenagers because caffeine can affect how much calcium the body can absorb. Caffeine is also a stimulant, which means it gives teenagers artificial energy. Too much caffeine can cause sleep problems as well as problems concentrating at school.

Foods and drinks with caffeine include coffee, tea, energy drinks, some flavoured waters and chocolate.

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating says that children, teenagers and adults should limit ‘sometimes’ foods. It’s best to save these foods for special occasions.

Healthy alternatives for snacks and desserts

Encourage your child to choose snacks from the healthy food groups. This can include things like nuts, cheese, low-fat yoghurt and fresh fruit or vegetables – for example, carrot and celery sticks, rice cakes or wholegrain crackers with dips like hommus, guacamole or tzatziki.

The same goes for dessert at the end of a meal. Sliced fruit or yoghurt are healthy options. If you want to serve something special, try homemade banana bread. Save cakes, chocolate, lollies and so on for special occasions like birthdays.