If you’re a parent, you know what a chore it can be to get children to eat what’s good for them . . . especially fruits and vegetables. Now it turns out many teenagers are turning up their noses at fruits and veggies, too – at a critical time in their growth.
A study of teens in Minnesota, published in the February, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that this group of teens had two sharp drops in their fruit and vegetable intake – one in early adolescence in one in late adolescence. The research was led by Nicole I. Larson of the University Of Minnesota School Of Public Health.
A drop in fruits and veggies is bad for any of us, but it’s especially worrisome for teenagers. Adolescents have very high nutrition needs. Plus, eating habits in adolescence can become permanent habits in adulthood.
If you have a teenager in your household, you may need to reiterate what you told him or her at an earlier age: eat your veggies.
Dr. Mike
