Avia Ustanny, Staff Reporter
DEPENDING on the depth of your pocket, and the age of your children, you may be experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, related not to your eating habits, but to the rate at which teens put away food.
The minute your child approaches adolescence, the way they eat will almost certainly become an issue between you and them.
Gallons of juice, large pizzas, burgers, chicken, disappear fast, to the chagrin of parents concerned about their children's health and the family purse.
On the other hand, there are other teens who often decide they will not eat at all, ("No, I will not be eating dinner today, Dad") as they seek to achieve the social ideal of beauty.
This week, we discuss the issue, hearing from the teenagers and their parents, as well as from nutritionists who explain why adolescents do the things they do.
For parents who have to pander to the desires of their growing offspring, we say, there is hope. After 19, they often are able to fund their own burger binges, or by then, the dieting fads are replaced with the common sense of approaching maturity.
In the meantime, advice from consultant nutritionist, Dr. Heather Little-White is that children should be taught how to cook. It does create a difference to their attitude to good food, its preparation and the idea of sharing their creations with Mom, Dad and others in the family.
From our survey, the top foods that teenagers love are:
Dumplings
Noodle soup
Rice/meat
Pasta
Frosted Cereals
Barbecued meats
Pizza
Burgers
Patties
Chips
Juice
Soda
