Nutritional Status of Adolescents
By: Maeve Parish & Nick MacIntyre
Canadian Teens generally consume more sodium than is recommended
- A quarter of sodium that teens consume may be a health risk: 80% of girls 9-18 and 97% of boys aged 9-18 consumed more sodium than the UL.
- several factors might be associated with this result
- A quarter of calories consumed by teens aged 14 -18 came from foods not part of the four food groups, which tend to be higher in salt, fat, and sugar.
Three in ten adolescents had energy intakes that exceeded there regular energy intakes
- The assessment of energy intake was based on BMI. Most adolescents ( about 70 percent ) fell with in the healthy range, so neither overweight or nor obese.
- About a quarter of boys and girls aged 9- 17 had a BMI indicating overweight or obesity, suggested that they were not achieving energy balance