Healthy Caloric Intake for a 13-Year-Old-Girl
Teen girls with distorted body images are at risk for eating disorders.
An alarming percentage approximately 32 percent, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2010 of U.S. children and teens are overweight or obese. However, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health, about 3 percent of U.S. teens suffer from eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Consuming a healthy calorie intake helps 13-year-old girls maintain healthy body weights, maximize athletic performance and excel in school.
Sedentary Teens
Teen girls who are sedentary don’t exercise but participate in activities associated with daily living such as walking to classes, shopping and helping with household chores. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sedentary 13-year-old girls need about 1,600 calories per day to maintain healthy body weights. Sedentary teen girls who are underweight may need additional calories from nutrient-dense foods, such as nuts, peanut butter or medical nutrition shakes.
Moderately Active Teens
Moderately active teen girls participate in exercise equivalent to walking 1.5 to 3 miles per day. This may include walking or biking to school or being involved in team sports, such as volleyball or golf. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 estimate that moderately active 13-year-old teen girls need about 2,000 calories each day to maintain a healthy weight.
Active Teens
Active 13-year-old girls need about 2,200 calories each day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Active teens exercise the equivalent of walking or jogging more than 3 miles per day. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, some female teen athletes require up to 3,000 calories per day; this may include teen girls who play soccer, participate in swim team or those who play basketball.
Calories per Pound
You can also use a teen girl’s current body weight to help estimate her individualized calorie needs for healthy weight maintenance. According to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, teens ages 12 to 18 years old need 30 to 60 calories per kilogram, or about 13.6 to 27.3 calories per pound, of body weight every day; overweight teen girls likely need fewer calories per pound. Based on these calorie recommendations, a 120-pound, 13-year-old teen girl needs 1,632 to 3,276 calories per day depending on her activity level.
An alarming percentage approximately 32 percent, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2010 of U.S. children and teens are overweight or obese. However, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health, about 3 percent of U.S. teens suffer from eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Consuming a healthy calorie intake helps 13-year-old girls maintain healthy body weights, maximize athletic performance and excel in school.
Sedentary Teens
Teen girls who are sedentary don’t exercise but participate in activities associated with daily living such as walking to classes, shopping and helping with household chores. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sedentary 13-year-old girls need about 1,600 calories per day to maintain healthy body weights. Sedentary teen girls who are underweight may need additional calories from nutrient-dense foods, such as nuts, peanut butter or medical nutrition shakes.
Moderately Active Teens
Moderately active teen girls participate in exercise equivalent to walking 1.5 to 3 miles per day. This may include walking or biking to school or being involved in team sports, such as volleyball or golf. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 estimate that moderately active 13-year-old teen girls need about 2,000 calories each day to maintain a healthy weight.
Active Teens
Active 13-year-old girls need about 2,200 calories each day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Active teens exercise the equivalent of walking or jogging more than 3 miles per day. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, some female teen athletes require up to 3,000 calories per day; this may include teen girls who play soccer, participate in swim team or those who play basketball.
Calories per Pound
You can also use a teen girl’s current body weight to help estimate her individualized calorie needs for healthy weight maintenance. According to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, teens ages 12 to 18 years old need 30 to 60 calories per kilogram, or about 13.6 to 27.3 calories per pound, of body weight every day; overweight teen girls likely need fewer calories per pound. Based on these calorie recommendations, a 120-pound, 13-year-old teen girl needs 1,632 to 3,276 calories per day depending on her activity level.
The Food Pyramid and Other Options
It prompted me to look into the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Pyramid used for the last decade by Americans. Has it worked for us to be a healthier as children? Are we not following the Pyramid as a guide? Or is the Food Pyramid all wrong?
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the altered Food Pyramid (below) is the guide to Healthy eating:
Researchers will be debating this years to come, but recent evidence and studies have urged the USDA to make changes to the Food Pyramid. A quick and easy solution to the Food Guide Pyramid would be to switch the place of Fruits and Vegetables with the Breads, Cereals, Rice and Pasta group. Many could argue about the number of servings each group should have, but leaving the serving sizes as they appear on the pyramid makes dietary sense. Also, there are too many servings of refined sugars, simple carbohydrates in the bread, rice, cereal group in my opinion.
The Food Diamond
The Food Diamond separates the fatty animal meats from leaner healthier meats and well as adds junk food/poor cooking choices as a group. The addition of one of the most important elements to our lives - Water and Daily Exercise should also be
addressed. I usually recommend people to drink 3-4 quarts of water a day especially if you are an active person. Personally, Harvard has the best pyramid since it is the only one that introduces daily exercise as part of the caloric process and separates fatty foods from leaner foods within the same food groups.
I am not a professional dietician but you do not need to be one in order to know how to feed yourself and your family. In a nutshell, buy more produce in the form of fruits and vegetables, eat leaner meats, and limit (not eliminate) breads, rice, and cereal. If you need any information on the Food Guide that are many articles supporting both sides of the argument found by typing the Food Pyramid into a search engine. Good luck and eat right!
addressed. I usually recommend people to drink 3-4 quarts of water a day especially if you are an active person. Personally, Harvard has the best pyramid since it is the only one that introduces daily exercise as part of the caloric process and separates fatty foods from leaner foods within the same food groups.
I am not a professional dietician but you do not need to be one in order to know how to feed yourself and your family. In a nutshell, buy more produce in the form of fruits and vegetables, eat leaner meats, and limit (not eliminate) breads, rice, and cereal. If you need any information on the Food Guide that are many articles supporting both sides of the argument found by typing the Food Pyramid into a search engine. Good luck and eat right!