How to improve a teenager's appetite?
There are several ways to improve a teenager's appetite. “Treatment” will not be a big problem for you. Most likely, the child began to eat less due to psychological reasons. And also adolescence. But not because he has any illness.
Important!
If you cannot restore your teenager's appetite for several months, consult a doctor. He will help you cope with the situation. If you do not intervene, the teenager may develop health problems.
So, the ways to improve a teenager’s appetite are as follows.
Give your child vitamins
If there are few vitamins in a child’s body, this will negatively affect his health. It also significantly reduces appetite. Vitamins are necessary for every person. In order for the body to feel good. And it functioned as efficiently as possible.
To improve your teenager's health, buy him products that contain natural vitamins. In particular, fruits and vegetables. You can, of course, purchase specialized tablets with vitamins. However, this can only be done after preliminary consultation with the child’s attending physician.
We recommend feeding your teenager foods that contain:
- Vitamin B.
- Vitamins of group D.
- Calcium.
- Zinc.
- Iron.
They will help the child begin to feel better. And they will improve his appetite.
Don't let your child eat junk food
Many parents allow their child to buy crackers, chips, McDonald's burgers and French fries. And then they are faced with the fact that the child does not want to eat anything. This happens because due to the consumption of unhealthy foods, a teenager’s appetite decreases.
It seems that on the packages of this type of food it is written that they are very high in calories. But in fact, they contain completely empty calories. Which only fill the stomach. They take up space in it. And after just a few hours they leave the child hungry. These products must be avoided.
Prohibit your child from eating large quantities of sweets. You can eat chocolates, buns and candies. But in limited quantities. Because excessive consumption of sweets kills your appetite.
Teach your teenager to eat three to four times a day
Gradually you need to introduce a three to four meals a day diet. As part of it, a teenager should eat at least 3-4 times a day. At the same time, portions should be as nutritious and filling as possible. So that the teenager is not hungry throughout the day.
Feed your child foods that improve appetite
To improve your teen's appetite, give him the following foods.
Fruits
Appetite is positively affected by:
- Orange.
- Apple.
- Apricot.
- Pomegranate.
- Lemon.
They are very tasty and, at the same time, healthy. Your child is guaranteed to love these fruits.
Berries
We recommend purchasing the following berries for a teenager:
- Cranberries.
- Rowan.
- Barberry.
- Blackberry.
You may have problems with rowan berries, barberries and blackberries (the child may not want to eat them). However, he will definitely like cranberries. Because it is easy to consume. And very tasty.
Juices
Juices, oddly enough, also improve a child’s appetite. You can give him both freshly squeezed products and those sold in Tetrapacks. However, we recommend giving preference to the first type of juice. Because they are natural.
Use spices when cooking
They will not only decorate your dishes and add flavor to them, but will also have a positive effect on the teenager’s appetite. We recommend using the following spices:
- Dill.
- Bay leaf.
- Pepper.
- Basil.
If you are preparing cutlets or chops for your child, be sure to coat them with horseradish, mustard, ketchup or mayonnaise before putting them on the table. The child will really enjoy eating meat with sauce. Because it will be very tasty.
What are the risks for a teenage girl who is interested in losing weight?
Today, a large percentage of teenage girls go to doctors with the problem of menstrual irregularities. For the most part, these are victims of weight loss who have set themselves the goal of losing excess weight and becoming like Hollywood stars - and therefore exhausting themselves with training coupled with strict diets. Moreover, not everyone is advised to lose weight for health reasons: ultimately, unreasonable weight loss can lead to reproductive dysfunction... Professional gynecologists talk about this in more detail.
The burden of losing weight
The world is obsessed with losing weight. Women only talk about diets. Teenage girls are no exception. Is it possible for to lose weight ? And if possible, how? Commented by the candidate of medical sciences, head of the gynecology department of the polyclinic of the National Medical Center named after. N.I. Pirogova Roszdrav Elena GAMIROVA
Visit a gynecologist!
At the mere mention of visiting a gynecologist, many teenage girls lower their eyes in shame. And in vain, experts say. Regular visits to the gynecological office should become the norm for any girl starting from the age of six. Especially if a girl suddenly decides to start losing weight !
– Unfortunately, visiting a pediatric gynecologist in our country is often perceived as exotic: what gynecological sores can a child have? In fact, it is in childhood and adolescence that many problems in the reproductive sphere of a future woman arise. And these problems are increasing year by year. Medical statistics speak for themselves: the proportion of absolutely healthy girls of school and preschool age in our country has decreased by 4 times and is 6.3 percent. At the same time, the number of diseases of the endocrine system has increased by 2 times, and malformations of the uterus and ovaries - by 10 times!
In girls of preschool and early school age, inflammation of the lower genital tract (vulvoginitis) is most often detected.
The scourge of older girls is menstrual irregularities and sexually transmitted infections, which can lead to the development of inflammatory diseases of the uterus (endometritis) and appendages. The reason is the immaturity of the endocrine system and early sexual experience. According to research, almost every 10th girl in our country begins sexual activity before the age of 14.
The incidence of candidiasis and papillomavirus infections in children has also increased 10-fold, which in the future can lead to the development of serious diseases of the cervix and complications of pregnancy. It is not surprising that in our country we have such a low reproductive potential, and the demographic concept of Russia, adopted in October 2007, is recognized as one of the key programs of the national project “Health”.
And in this regard, something is being done: already now, almost all gynecological centers (including our department) are ready to accept children and adolescents for preventive examinations, which it is advisable to undergo once a year from preschool age, and starting from adolescence (without the presence of complaints) – at least twice. Don’t delay visiting your pediatric gynecologist! Even at a very tender age.
Fat talks about growing up
We asked the head of the children's department of the Endocrinology Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Valentina PETERKOV, to tell us about this.
At 11-12 years old, before the first menstruation appears, girls begin to grow rapidly and gain weight . They are about two years ahead of boys in development, so sometimes they seem too large and plump compared to their boy classmates. But in fact, if a girl does not gain 45 kg by the age of 13-14, her transformation into a girl will be delayed. And this can entail various unfavorable consequences: it can disrupt hormonal development so much that you will need to take hormonal medications, and in the future the frail girl may have a difficult pregnancy...
Usually, at the age of 13-15, girls overestimate their thickness and it is not those who really need it, but absolutely normal, slender young ladies who want to lose weight. The hormonal changes that they undergo require great strength from the body, so fasting during this period is dangerous. It is also dangerous to follow “adult” diets, for example, eating only meat or apples all week. The growing brain needs fats, and it also needs glucose, which the body gets from sweets.
Thinness brings no good
It’s scary when losing weight becomes an obsession in a girl, which can lead to anorexia (painful refusal to eat), when she eats practically nothing, although she cleverly hides this from her parents: she throws out some of the food, deliberately leaving unwashed plates in the kitchen.
At one time, anorexia became a real disaster among pupils of private elite schools in the West: teenagers tend to imitate each other. The strictest measures had to be taken: girls suspected of having a manic idea to lose weight at any cost were forced to immediately leave the school.
In our country, such cases are not as frequent as in the West, but, according to Valentina Peterkova, they are by no means isolated. She had to see girls who, after 2-3 months of hunger strike, drove themselves to anorexia. Thin, with a disrupted menstrual cycle, they could no longer eat - they vomited at the sight of food. It was simply too late to feed these girls - with persuasion or force. They needed help not only from an endocrinologist, but also from a psychiatrist. Such “shifts” also occur in boys, but much less frequently.
No chips!
It happens, of course, that a young lady has gained extra pounds during adolescence; this usually happens to the daughters of overweight parents. In this case, the fat woman just needs to reconsider her menu.
Let's consider two ways. The first one is for those who are still growing. They don't need to worry. At the same kilograms, as their height increases, they will become slimmer.
The second way is for young ladies who have already reached the maximum height limit. They weight . Losing weight suddenly is dangerous.
A 13-15 year old girl should consume 2-2.5 thousand calories per day and eat less than her mother eats. She needs protein and vitamins, since at this time hormone synthesis occurs in her body. This means you can’t give up meat, vegetables and fruits. You can’t completely give up fats and carbohydrates. The developing brain requires them.
The main thing is a sense of proportion!
But you will have to forget about fried potatoes and fried chicken, about sausage and frankfurters, about dumplings, pizza, mayonnaise - there is a lot of fat there. And no buns, cakes, chips, nuts or Pepsi-Cola! They contain so many calories!
But you can eat cottage cheese without sugar, soup, main course, one piece of bread, unsweetened compote. You need to eat 3-4 times a day, but in small portions. Move dinner to 6-7 pm and don’t look in the refrigerator later. Everything we eat before bed is converted into fat.
And of course, to maintain a normal weight you need to move more. The girl should spend an hour or two a day in active games in the air. It is useful for her to swim, ride a bike, run and walk for a long time, and dance.
But you need to sit less at the computer. According to foreign data, children who sit at the computer for a long time quickly gain weight. And once a fat woman has begun to monitor her weight , she cannot stop this activity, because a person prone to obesity gains weight again as soon as she stops losing weight.
Memo to parents
Before dealing with the problem of excess weight , you need to determine whether the girl really weighs more than necessary. At 13 years old, with an average height of 157 cm, her ideal weight should be 47 kg. My height of 168 cm allows me to weigh 68 kg, but this is already the limit, there is no need to gain further weight. A baby 145 cm tall can afford a weight of 35 kg, but not lower. At 15 years old, the average height is 163 cm, the average weight is 54 kg. The upper limit for a height of 173 cm is 77 kg. The lower limit for a height of 155 cm is 43 kg.
Author: Marina Minina Based on materials from: AiF
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Present your dishes beautifully
There is a possibility that the child eats little because the food he is fed is not aesthetically pleasing. This happens due to the fact that restaurants (including fast food) have spoiled their visitors. They began to serve the dishes very beautifully. Decorate them before serving.
As a result, the child gets used to the beautiful appearance of food. And on a subconscious level, he begins to reject dishes in which food is placed chaotically on the plate. And not beautifully decorated, like in restaurants.
To get rid of the problem, you need to learn how to decorate dishes. Arrange them in a certain way. So that they look beautiful. Just like in restaurants. If you can achieve this, the child may begin to eat a lot of food again.
There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube on how to prepare food. Learning how to decorate dishes will not be a problem for you.
Prepare a variety of foods
Sometimes teenagers start eating less because you cook them the same food. For example, pasta, cereals and soups of a similar type. For several weeks. And sometimes even months.
Due to the fact that the food is monotonous, the child’s body gets bored with it. He doesn't want to consume it anymore. Because certain dishes became boring. As a result, the child does not eat them even if he is very hungry.
If you diversify the menu and regularly feed your child something new, this will have a positive effect on him. He will be able to eat with the same appetite as before. And his eating pattern will improve significantly.
