Pediatric Nutrition in Practice

2 Nutrition of Healthy Infants, Children and Adolescents

Key Words

Adolescence · Nutrition · Adolescent health

Key Messages

• Adolescents (10–19 years of age) represent one
  fifth of the global population and are considered a
  healthy age group who will eventually enter the
  work force and raise the economic productivity of
  any country


• It is a critical period marking phenomenal changes
  including rapid physical, psychosocial, sexual and
  cognitive maturation, and hence the nutrient needs
  are higher in adolescence than at any other time in
  the life cycle


• Nutritional interventions for adolescents need to
  be tailored to the developmental level of each indi-
  vidual adolescent to respond to their needs and
  should be delivered on a platform where they can
  be reached


• Adolescent nutrition research must move towards
  identifying how effective intervention components
  can be embedded within health, education and
  care systems and achieve a long-term sustainable
  impact © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel

Introduction

Adolescents (10–19 years of age) represent one

fifth of the global population and are considered

a healthy age group who will eventually enter the

work force and raise the economic productivity of

any country. There are 1.2 billion adolescents in

the world, 90% of whom live in low- and middle-

income countries (LMICs), and they make up

12% of the population in industrialized countries

compared with 19% in LMICs [1].

Adolescence is a critical period marking phe-

nomenal changes including rapid physical, psy-

chosocial, sexual and cognitive maturation, and

hence the nutrient needs are higher in adoles-

cence than at any other time in the life cycle.

Healthy eating in childhood and adolescence is

important for proper growth and development,

as optimal nutrition is a prerequisite for achiev-

ing the full growth potential and failure to achieve

optimal nutrition may lead to delayed and stunt-

ed linear growth. Furthermore, healthy nutrition

can also help prevent diet-related chronic diseas-

es such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular

diseases, pulmonary, hepatic and renal diseases,

cancer and osteoporosis [2, 3]. It has been high-

lighted that nutrition interventions for adoles-

Koletzko B, et al. (eds): Pediatric Nutrition in Practice. World Rev Nutr Diet. Basel, Karger, 2015, vol 113, pp 122–126
DOI: 10.1159/000367879

2.7 Adolescent Nutrition

Rehana A. Salam  Zulfiqar A. Bhutta