Adolescence period is considered as one of the most important phases of life because it is recognized as the transition period from childhood to adulthood. As per WHO, individual belongs to the age group of 10 to 19 years are generally considered as adolescent.

Nutrition plays very important role in this period because during adolescence accelerated physical, emotional and bio chemical changes occurred within body, which require proper nutritional support

During adolescence, various body changes have observed due to the influence of several hormones which ultimately increases the demands for calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals. It is thus better to focus on consuming all the nutrients as per recommendation in order to obtain a healthy nutritional status, which ultimately helps them to achieve optimum growth  

Basic features of adolescence phase

• This phase basically initiates with the onset of puberty
• It ends with a phase when an adult behavior as well as identity is accepted
• During this period the final growth occurrs with an increase in weight and height
• In this phase changes in psychological aspects with attitudes behavior, values and interest have also occurred along with physical and psychological changes
• Sexual development occurred among boys and girls

Nutritional management

Energy

• As mentioned above during this phase there is an increase in height and weight occurred thus it is better to provide proper nutritional support for promoting the growth

• This accelerated growth requires additional energy to cope up with increased metabolic demand
• Need of calories are greater in this phase than any other time of life span with an exception of gestation as well as lactation
• It has seen that adolescent girls consume relatively fewer calories than adolescent boys
• It is estimated that adolescent girl should consume 2000 to 2500 kcal per day whereas adolescent boy should consume 2200 to 3000 kcal daily
• Proper physical activity is essentially required during this period in order to maintain proper energy balance otherwise it may cause obesity or underweight
• If any adolescent boy or girl involve themselves in strenuous exercise and sports then the requirement for calorie will exceed the normal recommendation whereas those who are not involving themselves in regular exercise should not consume this much of calories in order to maintain a healthy body weight
• Often a large appetite is considered as one of the major characteristics of this phase and it has seen that in most cases adolescents try to fulfill their hunger with snacks which are very high in fat, salt and sugar. This type of faulty feeding practice is responsible for developing adolescence obesity
• It is thus better to focus on the consumption of healthy foods in order to maintain a good health

Carbohydrate

• 65 to 75 percent of daily calorie should come from carbohydrates
• Glucose is considered as such a nutrient that is essentially required for providing energy to the brain therefore consumption of carbohydrate is very much important during this period for supporting the activity of brain
• It is better to focus on consumption of complex carbohydrate as they contain fibers. Excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates or refined carbohydrates will increase the risk of developing obesity or diabetes later in life
• It is thus better to consume both of the simple and complex carbohydrate in proper proportion for maximizing the benefits though special consideration should be provided on complex carbohydrate
• Diet should contain whole grain cereal products like oat meal, whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole grain pasta etc. as they are considered as good sources of complex carbohydrates

Protein

• Protein requirement during adolescence increases in many folds in order to support increased body mass as well as other development
• Proper protein intake is very much essential for promoting the growth of muscles
• It also helps to support the growth of reproductive organs
• It is better to consume 1.2 gm of protein per kg of ideal body weight daily
• Diet should contain proteins from both sources (plant and animal)
• It is better to consume all the essential amino acids for facilitating the growth because essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by body thus they should be consumed through diet

Fat

• Fat is another important nutrient that should be taken as it offers various health benefits
• It is better to focus on healthy fat consumption like the consumption of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, which can be obtained from plant sources like vegetable oils, nuts and nut butter
• Whereas consumption of too much saturated fat or trans fat is not wise for health as it will increase the risk of developing obesity and various other metabolic syndromes
• Too much consumption of junk foods or fast foods should be avoided

Vitamin

• Along with the increased requirement for energy and protein adolescent boys and girls have higher vitamin requirements as well
• Vitamin A is considered as one of the vital vitamins of primary concern. It is better to include orange and yellow coloured foods as well as vegetables in diet in order to increase vitamin A intake
• As the need of calories are increased in this period thus consumption of B vitamins specially vitamin B1, B2 and B3 should be increased in order to support increased metabolism as these vitamins act as coenzymes in various metabolic reactions
• Consumption of folic acid or vitamin B9 and vitamin B12 should also be increased as tissue synthesis is occurring at a rapid rate during this period. Whereas they also play vital role in DNA and RNA synthesis as well as cell division

• Requirement of vitamin D is increased as well, to support rapid skeletal growth
• Consumption of vitamin C is also very important as it plays various important role in body, specially helps in collagen synthesis, which is considered as one of the important parts of connective tissues    

Minerals

• All the minerals should be consumed as per recommendation but special consideration should be taken for calcium and iron intake because these two minerals are considered as very important during adolescence phase
• Calcium plays vital role in healthy bone formation and also helps in improving bone mineral density. It has seen that adolescent boys and girls accumulate about half of their adult bone mass. Therefore it is essential to consume proper calcium otherwise it will increase the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life
• Diet should contain vegetables and dairy products in order to increase calcium intake
• Iron is another important trace element that is required by the body for synthesizing hemoglobin which is related with expanding blood volume
• Though adolescent girls need relatively higher amount of iron than adolescent boys because they loss about 0.5 mg of iron per day by the way of menstrual cycle thus it should be replaced properly otherwise they may develop iron deficiency anemia  

Water

• It is better to consume at least 8 glasses of water per day

• Consumption of water is very much important because it helps to clean the body by eliminating toxins and wastes from body by urination, which helps to ensure healthy metabolism too

DiMeglio, G., 2000. Nutrition in adolescence. Pediatrics in review, 21(1), pp.32-33.

Gopinath, B., Flood, V.M., Rochtchina, E., Baur, L.A., Louie, J.C.Y., Smith, W. and Mitchell, P., 2013. Carbohydrate nutrition and development of adiposity during adolescence. Obesity, 21(9), pp.1884-1890.

Mesias, M., Seiquer, I. and Navarro, M.P., 2011. Calcium nutrition in adolescence. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 51(3), pp.195-209.

Mesías, M., Seiquer, I. and Navarro, M.P., 2013. Iron nutrition in adolescence. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 53(11), pp.1226-1237.

Stang, J.S. and Stotmeister, B., 2017. Nutrition in adolescence. In Nutrition Guide for Physicians and Related Healthcare Professionals (pp. 29-39). Humana Press, Cham.