To gain weight, a teenager must eat nutritionally dense foods. Teenagers' diet should have a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats to facilitate weight gain.
Nutritional and calorie needs of teenagers are higher. In some of the cases, their rapid metabolism and changing hormones can make weight gain a challenging task. However, this problem can be easily overcome by being attentive to the diet and calorie intake.
How should teenagers eat to gain weight
- Weight gaining foods for teenagers must be nutritionally dense. To gain weight, teenagers should eat additional 500 to 1000 calories. Nutrient-dense food gives you the maximum possible nutrition out of the calories you eat. Almonds and whole grains are good examples of nutritionally dense food.
- Include unsaturated and healthy fats in your daily diet. For instance, nuts, flaxseeds, avocado and olive oil must be added to your every day meal or snacks.
- Increase portion size and add high calorie toppings to your food. For instance, you can sprinkle olive oil on the salad and add butter to your daily food preparation. To increase calorie intake add cheese to the pastas.
- For weight gaining, teenagers must stick to healthy snacking habits. Don’t go for sodas or chips instead replace them with healthy food. You can take fruit drinks instead of soda and take fresh fruits for snacks.
- Teenager’s diet must be rich in dietary fibres. Foods such as legumes, oats, broccoli, carrots, whole grain foods, wheat, nuts and seeds, potato skins, avocado and bananas must be part of regular diet of teenagers.
- Since teenagers are undergoing rapid physical growth they need to consume extra calories. Whole fat dairy products must also be included in weight gaining diet for teenagers. Cereal, oatmeal, cheese omelette and baked potatoes help to gain fast and in safe manner.
- The best way to gain weight for teenagers is to have milk. Give a glass of milk in breakfast and after meal.
- In between meals you can have healthy drinks. Fruit shakes, smoothie and milkshakes are good weight gain drinks for teenagers.
- Make sure that you take adequate amount of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats.
Caloric requirements of teenagers
Calorie requirement is determined by gender and age of the teenager. On an average, calorie requirement of teenagers ranges from 1,800 to 3,500. According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Dietary- a teenage girl uses around 1,800 to 2,400 calories a day while a teenage boy burns about 2,200 to 3,200 calories per day. Before starting your quest to gain weight it is wise to determine your daily calorie requirement. Consult your nutritionist to know how much calories you need to increase in your daily diet.
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