Does your teen aged son eat well ?

Adequate nutrition is vital for ensuring your son's overall emotional and physical health. Good eating habits help prevent chronic illness in the future, including obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Ayurveda considers this a very important part in a person's life and also what habits are formed now are usaully for a life time.Eat right,think straight.
The more common teen eating habits include skipping meals, routine fast food consumption, frequent snacking and dieting.
Teens skip meals for a variety of reasons, including irregular schedules, convenience, work and social activities. Up to 50% of teens skip breakfast at one point or another. Breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day!What can you do? With regard to breakfast, let your teen know that skipping breakfast can slow their metabolism contributing to weight gain and poor performance. A busy lifestyle or running late are often reasons teens skip meals. Drinking milk is very essential for healthy bones and helps in many ways so get your teen aged son to drink a cup of milk daily and a good nutritous breakfast too.
Snacking: A survival Technique for Teens Snacking doesn't have to be a bad thing. It can help maintain energy levels particularly in active and growing teens. Because of the 'skipping meal' factor, many teens fail to eat three regular meals per day, thus snacking can actually be beneficial to ensure adequate caloric intake. The key however is encouraging teens to consume snacks that are nutrient dense rather than junk foods low in nutrients. Again, the key here is having snack items readily available including yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables with dips, snack cheeses and healthy snack bars or trail mixes.
No parent no matter how well meaning will be able to avoid fast food altogether. Teens are more apt to eat fast food because it is convenient and typically a social affair. Fast food is often jam packed full of fat and empty calories however. What can you do? Educate your teen as much as possible. Help them make smart food choices even when at fast food restaurants. Gradually wean them off this habit.
Dieting: The Evil Opposite of Healthy Eating Teens often diet because of the perception that 'thin is in'. Dieting can lead to dangerous habits including eating disorders in teens. Some signs that your teen may be dieting include: skipping meals, 'binge' eating, fasting or use of laxatives or diet pills. One thing you can do for your teen is encourage a healthy self esteem and body image. Engage your teen in extracurricular activities that promote a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise. Remember that your teen will also model the behaviors that they see at home. If you are constantly obsessing about your weight, your teen is likely too. Always aspire to maintain a healthy and balanced approach to eating and your teen is more likely to do the same. One approach is to attempt to eliminate the term 'diet' and replace it with 'healthy eating.' If you regularly incorporate healthy lifestyle and dietary practices into your life your teen is less likely to diet on a consistent basis. Recognizing teen eating habits is the first step toward encouraging healthy eating practices. Work with your teen to encourage a healthy lifestyle that incorporates sound eating habits and regular exercise. You might both benefit in the process!
Family is the best school to teach youngsters b etter eating habits.Goodluck-itis never too late to change.