The much requested writing piece is here finally. Your interest in knowing about this topic is pushing me to write a bit longer than I wrote📝 earlier about girls. So, bear with me patiently.
As we have discussed earlier, puberty or the entrance into adulthood, is literally a life changing experience. The boys 🚹may step into this phase a bit later than the girls, that is, around 12 to 16 years of age. Let’s discuss the science🔬 first.
Your male child, will experience the growth spurt, at a ⏫⏫higher percentage than their female counterparts. They fat stores don’t tend to increase in percentage, but their muscles mass increase is double than what girls experience.
This phase of transition from 👦boy to 👨man, will also bring along good chances to increase the bone mass and strength. The bones will surely increase in size, as the height is increasing, but is the bone strong enough??? This will depend on the life choices they make. The ✔️good food habits and physical activity ensures good gain of bone mass. Men have a ⬆️higher peak bone mass(the maximum mass of the bone, to which additions are possible only till 25 years of age) than women. Men accumulate more 💀skeletal mass than women do during growth, as their bone width and size is greater💹.
Energy needs of adolescents are influenced by various factors, and the young men have higher 📟caloric requirements since they experience greater increases in height, weight, and lean body mass than girls.
Another difference between the boys and the girls, is that, 🚺girls goes through a psychological pressure😩 if she reaches puberty earlier than her group of friends, but the boys goes through similar problems😩, if he is the one to reach puberty later than his friends. So, as a👪 parent be there for them.
Vanity 🕶️is considered a girl thing💅, but the young “men” around you are very much concerned about their body image. They are making conscious or unconscious decisions to improve the way they 👔👕👖look.
It can be due to media hyped “perfect male body” or due to the undeniable “peer pressure”👬. Reaching maturity around 12 to 16 years of age, the mama’s boy👲 suddenly want to become a handsome💪 hunk. Their extra concern with their height and muscle development, can also lead to unhealthy practices, like using steroids and protein supplements.
So, now here is the mama’s guide to “a healthier hunk”….
🔆Firstly, if you’re concerned about your teen’s body image, or eating and exercise habits, discuss all this with a health care provider🚑. Get your boundaries cleared up.
🔆Many teens worry a lot about being different from their peers and about anything that would make them not fit in or seem “normal”. So, try providing 🗣️logical reasoning to these bodily changes.
🔆Food intake🍰🍕 takes center stage because the adolescent growth spurt is sensitive to energy and nutrient deprivation. Eating less or not of good quality will affect. So, provide good quality food and distribute it well, through out the day.
🔆Increased muscle mass, will need more proteins, via eggs🍳, meat🍗, fish, poultry, lentils🍛, beans and nuts. Let him be a meat eater. This will also provide the iron for increased blood volume.
🔆Provide at least 3 cups of milk🍶 and other dairy products and good 🌞sun exposure for vitamin D to meet the needs of growing bones.
🔆Whole grains should be included in their diet🍽️ to provide for energy requirements and for other nutrients like zinc and various B vitamins.
🔆Try including 5 to 9 servings of fruit🍏🍉 and vegetables🍆🌽 in their daily diet. Boys think that eating the fruits and veggies is not “a boy thing”, so gear yourself up, to create new ways to 🔄trap him in eating these. Keep in mind that men tend to be more prone to heart diseases in later ages, avoidance of fruits and vegetables is one of the contributing factor, so try making this a motivating factor.
🔆Avoid junk food🍔, sweet foods🍫, fried foods 🍟and fizzy drinks🍹. Provide healthier foods to munch on all along the day, as you might see it becoming a norm at this age. This will also help in reducing the skin issues💆 faced at puberty.
🔆Exercise is a key to gaining best of the benefits of good food choices. So, take mobile📱, laptops and TV📺 remotes from their hands, and give them some good sports ⚽🏇🏊options.
🔆Some lads, try their hands at weight lifting🏋️ and other gym activities to gain the six packs at this time, which is not recommended due to the still growing bones. So, consult a proper physician before indulging into such extreme sports.
🔆Protein shakes and supplements advertisements may claim to provide a perfect body, but🚨🚨 DO NOT use these, try getting all your nutrients, naturally.
🔆Lastly, be healthy yourself too, as more energetic moms 👩are in demand nowadays.
Mariam Khan, RDN
DIET & NUTRITION COACH
