Health Eating

Health Eating

Adolescence is a period of rapid growth and development bridging childhood and adulthood [1]. Practising healthy eating behaviours is one of the most important factors to meet the nutritional needs of adolescents and proper eating behaviours that are learned in early life are maintained in adulthood thus reduces the risk for major chronic disease [2, 3]. Physical and psychological changes occurring during this period usually significantly influence their dietary behaviours [1, 4]. As teens become more independent, they make more of their own food choices. Nevertheless, being influenced by a multitude of factors (biological, social, physical, economic, psychosocial, attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about food) and changing of lifestyle may affect their dietary choices and eating behaviours, thus making them fail to adhere to healthy eating practices [5, 6].

Meal skipping is a common behaviour among adolescents. Meal skipping increases throughout adolescence as teens try to sleep longer in response to early school start times, try to lose weight through calorie restriction, and their lives become busier in general [7]. Breakfast is the most commonly skipped meal, especially among female adolescents [8]. Breakfast skipping has been associated with poor health outcomes including higher body mass index (BMI), poorer concentration and school performance, and increased risk of inadequate nutrient intake, especially calcium and fibre [9, 10].

Snacking is a common feature of the diet of adolescents. Unfortunately, food choices made by adolescents while snacking tend to be high in sugar, sodium and fat, while relatively low in vitamins and minerals [11]. Indeed, there is evidence from local studies that adolescents are consuming too many unhealthy snacks such as crisps, chocolates, sweets, and sugared fizzy drinks and are not consuming enough fruits and vegetables [12, 13]. In addition, fast food options such as pizzas, fried chicken, burgers, and hot dogs are...

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