Nutrition in adolescence.

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1. Giuseppina DiMeglio, MD* 1. 2. *The University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester, NY 1. Nutritional Requirements During Adolescence . Story M. In: McAnarney E, Kreipe REK, Orr DP, Comerci GD, eds. Textbook of Adolescent Medicine . 1992 WB Saunders Co Philadelphia, Penn 2. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Dietary/drv.html 3. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Dietary/Chartls.gif 4. Food Intakes of United States Children and Adolescents Compared With Recommendations. Munoz KA, Krebs-Smith SM, Ballard-Barbash R, Cleveland LE. Pediatrics . 1997;100:323-329 [OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] 5. Nutritional Supplements. Fact vs Fiction. Johnson WA, Landry GL. State of the Art Reviews: Adolescent Medicine . 1998;9:501-514 Adolescence is a time of remarkable growth. During this time, 20% of final adult height and 50% of adult weight are attained. Bone mass increases by 45%, and dramatic bone remodeling occurs. Soft tissues, organs, and even red blood cell mass increase in size. As a result, nutritional requirements peak in adolescence. Deficits in macronutrients or micronutrients can impair growth and delay sexual maturation. Requirements for the individual are impossible to estimate because of considerable variation in the rate and amount of growth. Population-based estimates include the reference daily intake (RDI), which estimates average requirements, and the recommended dietary allowance (RDA), which estimates the intake that meets the needs of most of the population. Eating a varied diet, with foods chosen from all the food groups in the proportion recommended on the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Pyramid virtually insures meeting micronutrient requirements. Adolescents who meet these recommendations do not require nutritional supplements. Adolescents often have chaotic eating patterns that do not conform to dietary recommendations. Fewer than 2% of adolescents consume adequate amounts of all the food groups, and almost 20% of females and 7% of males do not consume an adequate number of portions of any of the food groups. The vast majority of adolescents eat too much fat and saturated fat and too few vegetables and fruits. Fried potato is the number one vegetable they eat. The USDA recommends that no more than 30% of a person’s calories come from fat and that cholesterol intake be limited to 300 mg/d. Growth parameters provide a good estimate of the … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPediatrics%26rft.stitle%253DPediatrics%26rft.issn%253D0031-4005%26rft.aulast%253DMunoz%26rft.auinit1%253DK.%2BA.%26rft.volume%253D100%26rft.issue%253D3%26rft.spage%253D323%26rft.epage%253D329%26rft.atitle%253DFood%2BIntakes%2Bof%2BUS%2BChildren%2Band%2BAdolescents%2BCompared%2BWith%2BRecommendations%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1542%252Fpeds.100.3.323%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F9282700%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=ABST&journalCode=pediatrics&resid=100/3/323&atom=%2Fpedsinreview%2F21%2F1%2F32.atom