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Why Nutrition Matters for Teens… Now

A young woman skips the pizza and chooses fresh fruits, and other healthy options instead.
A young woman skips the pizza and chooses fresh fruits, and other healthy options instead.

You’re Not Just Growing Up. You’re Building Your Future.

Right now, your body is doing one of the most important jobs it will ever do!

It is building your brain, your bones, your hormones, and your energy systems all at once.

And it needs the right fuel to do that well.


What’s Actually Happening in Your Body

During your teen years, your body goes through rapid growth and development.

This includes:

  • Bone growth and strength

  • Muscle development

  • Brain maturation

  • Hormonal changes

In fact, adolescence is one of the fastest growth periods of your life (Sawyer et al., 2012).


Why Your Body Needs More, Not Less

Because of this growth, your body needs:

  • More energy

  • More protein

  • More vitamins and minerals

This is not the time to eat less or restrict food.

It is the time to support your body properly.


Your Brain Is Still Developing

Your brain is still developing into your mid-20s.

Nutrition plays a key role in:

  • Focus and learning

  • Memory

  • Mood and emotional regulation

What you eat now directly affects how your brain functions each day (Nyaradi et al., 2013).


This Isn’t About Weight

Nutrition is often talked about in terms of weight.

But your body is not focused on weight.

It is focused on:

  • Building

  • Repairing

  • Regulating

Food… good food, real food supports all of this.


The Real Goal

The goal is not control.

The goal is to give your body what it needs so it can do its job properly.


One Small Step

Add one more REAL food to a meal today.

This could be:

  • A source of quality protein

  • A nutrient-dense carbohydrate for energy

  • Some colour from fruit or vegetables


Closing Thought

Your body is not something to fight.

It is something to support and nourish.

And what you do now matters more than you think.


REFERENCES

Nyaradi, A., Li, J., Hickling, S., Foster, J., & Oddy, W. H. (2013). The role of nutrition in children’s neurocognitive development, from pregnancy through childhood. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 97. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00097

Sawyer, S. M., Azzopardi, P. S., Wickremarathne, D., & Patton, G. C. (2018). The age of adolescence. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2(3), 223–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-4642(18)30022-1

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