A Review of Teenage Nutrition in the United States

Since adolescence is a time of rapid physical growth, nutrient needs in relation to body size are higher than those of younger or older people. Caloric needs rise to a peak just before puberty and then drop. Girls usually reach their peak intake at 12 to 13 years of age and boys at about 16. Nutritional status can be derived from four types of assessment: anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, and dietary. There is need for the development of specific measurements of nutrient functioning, such as the erythrocyte transketolase determination for thiamine nutrition. To date there has been no nationwide study of the nutritional status of a statistically valid sample of American youth. The first of these is now in progress under the sponsorship of the National Center for Health Statistics. Evidence available to date indicates that dental caries, obesity, anemia in girls and in some boys, and less than desirable intakes of calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C are not uncommon. Status in regard to the trace minerals and the "newer" vitamins, such as pyridoxine and pantothenic acid, has not been assessed. Other matters for concern include the existence of a youthful counter-culture with its rejection of the findings of science and of a highly developed food technology that may be indifferent to nutritional considerations.