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Everywhere, for some time now, all we hear is talk about junk food, trans fats, obesity, poor eating habits and the lack of physical activity. We’re bombarded on all sides with information on the subject. But what is really the truth about teens’ eating habits? Should we be worried about our health even when we’re young? Is the situation as bad as the media say or are they exaggerating?
Yesterday, at the school library, I found a survey of the eating habits of young Quebecers, published in late 2004 by the Institut de la statistique du Québec. To conduct the survey, nutritionists met with nearly 2000 young people, of elementary and secondary school age, in 181 schools in Québec, in order to find out what young people eat in the course of a day. What I discovered in the survey is not very encouraging. Let’s see what the situation is.
Weight Teens are fatter now: myth or reality? I’d rather that were a myth. Unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s true at the start of the 21st century. Just about everywhere in works on nutrition, you read that alarming proportions of young people are becoming obese and that the phenomenon is even spreading throughout the planet! Québec is no exception, since approximately one young person in five (20%) is overweight, and obesity affects 4% to 10% of Québec teens. That’s a lot!
There are proportionately more obese boys than girls. At the start of the teen years, boys (21.7%) are more likely to be overweight than girls (18.4%), while at 15 and 16 years of age, the difference between guys (18.6%) and girls (19.0%) tends to narrow.
Even though this picture is far from encouraging, we must still be optimistic, since a good many young people are taking concrete steps to change their weight or appearance. Is it dangerous to be overweight? If a teen is considered obese or is seriously overweight, his or her quality of life and self-esteem may suffer, as well as his or her state of general health. Compared with a young person of normal weight, obese teens have higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which increase the risks of having a stroke or heart disease (a heart attack or angina) later on. I read that a stroke is a sudden halt in brain function. It can be caused by a halt in blood circulation to the brain or by a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. Too much cholesterol in the body, deposited on the artery walls, promotes their obstruction, resulting in the risk of stroke, heart attack or angina. In the same way, blood pressure that is too high requires the heart to pump more, resulting in enlargement of the heart, which weakens the organ. Hypertension can also lead to accelerated blockage or rupture of an artery supplying the brain, which can cause a stroke. But that’s not all! Obese or seriously overweight youngsters also have an increased likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes, that is, their body is unable to properly use insulin to regulate the level of sugar in their blood, which is called glycemia. Until very recently, the disease affected adults almost exclusively. Having Type 2 diabetes very young can cause complications when you reach your 30s or 40s, such as blindness, kidney damage, heart disease and amputation of the toes. Nutrition Are our eating habits really so poor? According to Canada’s Food Guide, in the teen years we should consume every day 5 to 12 portions of grain products, 5 to 10 portions of fruit and vegetables, 3 to 4 portions of milk products and 2 to 3 portions of meat and alternatives. But the daily reality is very different! In fact, many teens, particularly girls, eat fewer than the recommended minimum number of daily portions of vegetables, fruit and milk products. In general, girls 12 to 16 years of age eat much less than boys, but not necessarily better!
A quick look at the various food groups Grain products
White bread, pasta and rice are the favorites in this food group. We aren’t very fond of whole grains. In fact, we eat barely 13 to 17 grams of fiber a day, whereas double that is recommended!
Fruit and vegetables Overall, more than 50% of 12-16 year-olds have fewer than the minimum number of daily portions of fruit and vegetables. That proportion actually climbs to 60% among girls. Only boys 15 to 16 years of age eat five portions. The other groups say they eat about four portions a day. Of fruit and vegetables, it is vegetables that are avoided most! Fruit is a little more popular, especially in juice form. If we compare the daily portions consumed, they vary from 1.55 to 2.03 for vegetables and from 1.85 to 2.30 for fruit. Unfortunately, teenagers are less attracted to these foods than they should be; neither 12-14 year-olds (4.43), nor 15-16 year-olds (4.13) eat the portions required to be well nourished! Milk products In Québec, per capita consumption of milk declined by 12.6 liters from 1991 to 2001. Young people are no exception; their daily consumption is less than the recommended portions, among both boys and girls. Canada’s Food Guide indicates that a teenager 10 to 16 years of age should eat or drink three to four portions of milk, cheese or yogurt in a day. Well, they don’t! In actual fact, girls’ consumption of milk products is around 1.70 portions a day, while that of boys is about 2.49. Not eating enough milk products as one should can have a serious impact on one’s bones. In fact, researchers fear that today’s young people will have osteoporosis earlier in their lives than their elders do. Perhaps you are wondering what osteoporosis is. It’s a disease of the bones characterized by a decline in bone density and changes in the micro-architecture of bone tissue. Osteoporosis is also called “fragile bone disease”, since it can cause numerous fractures in those who suffer from it. Meat and alternatives As for the consumption of meat and alternatives—good news!—most teens are doing quite well. Both boys and girls are consuming a little over two portions a day, while Canada’s Food Guide recommends two to three portions, the equivalent of 100 to 300 grams (g). Boys 12 to 16 years old consume between 181.70 g and 189.50 g a day of meat and alternatives, and girls, 121.70 g to 124.40 g. In that category, you won’t be surprised to learn that the foods consumed the least are fish, legumes, nuts and grains! Even though most boys and girls eat the recommended portions of meat and alternatives daily, more girls than boys eat fewer than the minimum recommended portions. In fact, 28% of girls 12 to 14 years of age and 30% of girls 15-16 years of age eat fewer than two portions, while, among boys, only 6% and 7% of 12-14 year-olds and 15-16 year-olds do not consume the quantities recommended in Canada’s Food Guide. Bad eating habits and high-risk nutritional behaviour Not surprisingly, young people like, not healthy foods, but foods of little nutritional value, such as candy, chips, soft drinks, chocolate bars and chewing gum. In fact, 17.0% of 12-14 year-olds and 22.0% of 15-16 year-olds consume these foods three times or more a day! As for fries, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza, just over 50% eat them once or twice a week. In general, they consume too much fat and salt and not enough minerals. Moreover, boys 12 to 14 years of age ingest large quantities of cholesterol, given that 43.0% of them absorb more than 300 mg a day! That sizable amount of saturated fat and cholesterol can increase the risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke in adulthood. Among the eating habits worth changing, more than one-third of teens do not have breakfast in the morning, one young person in five often has a restaurant meal, and nearly one 15-16 year-old in 10 has meals in a fast-food restaurant three or more times a week. In addition, many young people regularly watch TV while eating, and that behaviour increases with age. This is true of as many as one in two 15-16 year-olds. What can we do to improve our eating habits? In light of these figures, if you want to change your eating habits a little or start to exercise, take a look at the interviews that Marion and I conducted with a nutritionist and physical fitness experts. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some tips for changing your living habits?
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In fact, as young people get older, more of them, both girls and boys, watch their weight: 35.0% of young people 12 to 14 years of age and 29.4% of young people 15-16 years of age try to control their weight. As you can imagine, female teens are much more concerned with their appearance than male teens, as 25.7% of girls 12 to 14 years of age and 31.9% of girls 15-16 years of age want to lose weight, compared with 15.2% and 10.8% respectively among boys the same age. A surprising fact: even if 10% to 15% of boys want to lose weight, just over 15% want to gain weight! Naturally, the latter percentage is not very high among girls! 
Usually, we eat more than the recommended daily portion of grain products. But 23% of girls 12 to 14 years old and 15% of girls 15-16 years old eat fewer than five portions a day. 