Question
I am a 14 year old girl, who weights 48kg and I am confused about what is healthy in terms of diet and exercise. I do sport at school 1-2 times a week, plus I also do dance classes (7 hours), jogging (1-3 hours), aerobics and weights (1-2 hours) outside of school each week. My diet consists of healthy, but low fat foods. Can you tell me if I need to eat healthier or exercise more?
Answer
From the information you have given about your diet and exercise regime, it seems that you may not be eating enough food and you may not be getting enough protein in your diet. Your caloric intake may be too little for the amount of physical activity you are doing each week.
Teenage girls need certain caloric and nutrient requirements every day, which can be found in the food groups section of this site. You need to ensure you are getting enough iron (teenage girls need more) and enough protein, carbohydrates and fat in your diet to give you the energy to use for all the physical activities you are engaging in.
You need to ensure that your calorie intake is adequate for your age group and activity level – teenager need a high level of all the nutrients to ensure they are getting adequate energy for all their metabolic functions. If you do not eat enough, you could be starving yourself. This is just a guideline – to ensure you are getting enough food to give you enough energy, consult a qualified dietician who will be able to monitor your diet properly.
