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Q. Is snacking good
or bad for my teen?
A. Nutritionist
Rhonda Sebastian recently conducted a study on teen snacking for the
Agricultural Research Service Beltsville Human Nutrition Center. She surveyed
4,000 teens between the ages of 12 and 19 and found that teens who snack
regularly get more fruit in their diets. In addition, boys who snacked on a regular basis were more likely to get the
recommended amount of milk in their diet. However, snack foods also accounted
for 45 percent of the teens total sugar intake, which is mostly consumed in the
form of soft drinks, fruit drinks, candy and desserts.
Q. How can I make
snacking healthier for my teen?
A. It may take
some getting used to for your teen to change his or her snacking habits. Let's face
it, in most cases nutritious snacks are not as tasty as pizza, fries and sodas.
Some things you can do are:
- Encourage your teen to have a set time each day
for snacks, just like they have a set time for meals. Discourage the habit of
continuously eating or picking at food throughout the day.
- Offer your teen high-fiber snacks including
popcorn, fruits and vegetables (especially with skins and seeds), dried peas
and beans, nuts, and whole-grain cereal.
If you have any further questions about this topic, or would
like to make an appointment, please call (715) 830-0732. | |
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