Introduction:

Current nutritional issues in young people:

• Poor nutritional choices 👎
  
• Eating disorders involving under-eating
  
• Stress/exams/school resulting in poor eating habits 🍟
  

Current advice:

• Support network
• Switching takeaway for home-made food 🍟
  
• Taking a break from revision/homework to do the things you enjoy 😊
  
• Unfollow people that make you feel bad about yourself 👎
  
• Eat more things with nutritional benefits rather than to clench hunger 🍏
  
• Mindful eating, but not obsessive
• Find a balance in everything you do

UK’s current statistics:

• Peak in eating disorders of girls ages 15-19 👧
  
• 18% of boys obese;16% of girls obese

Contemporary issues facing young people

The three issues I would like to focus on, which are prevalent amongst young people are: eating disorders, stress eating, and poor nutritional choices.

Eating Disorders:

• We live in the day and age of social media 📱
  
• We also live in a “healthy” eating obsessed generation 🍏
  
• Many young people constantly weigh themselves,and then either eat extremely excessively, or not enough as a result
• Eating disorders range from binge-eating to bulimia and anorexia
• Comments made about young people’s weight can be contributing factor to the development of eating disorders
• Another cause for eating disorders, is social media which causes anorexia, and body dysmorphia due to need for ‘likes’ and to look like edited pictures of celebrities 📱
  
• If you feel like you have become obsessed with others opinions, or think you may have an eating disorder, I advise you to contact your local GP

Stress eating:

• Teenagers are often stressed by a number of factors 😨
  
• Exams, teachers, homework, school, home life, friendships, relationships, etc. 📕
  
• It is so easy for us to grab a bag of crisps, and before you know it, the bag is finished
• It’s midnight, and you’re still working hard, no food in the house? Well order a pizza, its cheap and quick, just one click on your phone 📱
• Bad breakup? Finish a tub of ice-cream
• It is hard for young people to remember the importance of nutrition when they feel overwhelmed by the stress of their lives 😨
  

Poor nutritional choices:

• Due to stress, home issues, not being able to cook, the easiest thing to eat is junk food 🍟
  
• Fast food, has hit a world-wide rise with over 37,000 McDonalds alone open in 107 countries
• The selection of junk food offered is huge and accedd to it is easier than ever 📱
• Excessive junk food consumption can lead to obesity

So why is this bad?

Eating disorders:

• 50% of teenage girls and 30% of teenage boys use unhealthy methods to control their weight 👎
  
• This includes, drugs, over-exercising, under-eating, fasting, skipping meals, drinking, or using laxatives, etc
• By 17, 90% of girls have dieted 🍏
  
• 70% of females, “ideal body type”, is based on social media 📱
  
• 4% of teenagers openly suffer from eating disorders
• Anorexia is a serious issue as it is life threatening; one becomes malnutritioned, causing many health complications, resulting in death 💀
  
• Girls who suffer eating disorders, often lose their periods, which in the long run may lead to cancer

Poor nutritional habits:

• Fast food, usually contains large amountsof saturated fats and cholesterol 🍟
  
• Eating too much raises the amount of cholesterol in the blood, risking heart disease and a stroke 💔
  
• Men should have around 30g and women around 20g of saturated fat per day 👨
• A Big Mac alone contains 10g, which is around half the amount of the recommended intake, on a sandwich ALONE 🍔
  
• Junk food is very high in calories 🍟
  
• Women should have around 2,000 calories, whilst men should have 2,500per day (the exact amount depends on your age, lifestyle, and size)
• Consuming too many calories may result in obesity and even diabetes
• Salt is also very common in most junk/fast foods 🍔
• Adults should have no more than 6g of salt perday which is 2.4 g of sodium
• Too much salt results in high blood pressure
• McDonald’s Southwest grilled chicken salad, sounds healthy? Well, it contains 45% of your daily salt intake 🥗
  
• We shouldn’t have more than 7 sugar cubes, around 30g of sugar a day
• One Krispy Kreme donut contains 57% of that 🍩
  
• Too much sugar results in teeth decay, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes

Stress eating:

• This type of eating has always been prevalent for young people
• Due to COVID, stress eating is a huge concern amongst everyone, not just the younger generation
• Now more than ever, this issue for nutrition, needs tackling, and fast ⌛
  
• Stress, causes one to crave high levels of fat, and sugar (comfort foods) 🍫
  
• Some suggest that the hormone, ghrelin causes this to take place; others suggest that insulin increases, when stressed
• Let’s combat this together ❗
  

Eating Disorders:

• If you feel you may suffer from an eating disorder, the best advice I have, is to speak to a trusted adult
• If you can’t,then speak to your local GP 🏥
  
• From there they can guide you to the best route for you
• This can include, CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, a nutritionist, and a therapist or in the worst-case scenario, if you are in a life-threatening position, rehab 🏥
  
• Make sure to have a secure support network of people you trust around you, it will get you through the hard times, helping you recover

What can you do?

Poor nutritional habits:

• If this is caused by hard to break childhood routine, then switch things up
• Stop the takeaways, make everything homemade ❌
• First make a meal plan
• Replace unhealthy foods to healthy ones, (some healthy recipes are below) 🥗
  
• Have a healthy eating partner and track your progress
• Have a good healthy breakfast 🍉
  
• Instead of having a second helping of food, wait 10 minutes and wait and see if you are still hungry ⌛
  
• Don’t forget, drink plenty of water! You may be just dehydrated

Stress eating:

• Meditation is a great way to reduce stress, reducing hunger
• Having social support and a place to relieve your stress is always good 👫
  
• Going on a morning walk, having a good sleep, and leaving time to do the things you love each day are all proven to help you reduce your stress levels, ultimately preventing stress eating ✅
  
• It’s important to realise that stress results in poor nutritional habits which results in more stress, making it a constant cycle
• For change to happen, it starts with you breaking the cycle ❌
  

Where can you get help?

Eating disorders:

Do you have an eating disorder? Signs to look out for: {from the NHS website}

• spending a lot of time worrying about your weight and body shape
• avoiding socialising when you think food will be involved ❌
  
• eating very little food 🍉
  
• deliberately making yourself sick or taking laxatives after you eat 🤮
  
• exercising too much 🚴
  
• having very strict habits or routines around food
• changes in your mood 😦
  
• feeling cold, tired or dizzy
• problems with your digestion 😦
  
• your weight being very high or very low for someone of your age and height
• not getting your period for women and girls

For more information visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/eating-disorders/

If you feel this may be you, please contact your local GP, or ring the helpline 0808 801 0677 or call 0808 801 0711 , who will guide you to the best solution.

Or visit this website for the correct equipment to help you beat this

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/support-services/helplines

Poor nutritional habits:

• There are many apps out there, however, I’m not going to recommend any as I believe it can sometimes lead to or trigger an eating disorder 📱
  
• https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/Read this to get more information.
• Following the eat well guide (more info below) can help you lose the extra fat, making you live happier healthier and longer 😊
• Having your 5 a day, of both fruits and vegetables, will fill you up and is very beneficial for your body 🍏
  
• Drinking 8 glasses of water per day will make your skin clearer, and cleanse your body (sometimes, when we feel hungry, it is due to thirst)
• Not drinking enough water can cause things like a stroke, overeating and even death
• Make switches in your diet: full fat milk tosemi-skimmed, sugar to honey or even bananas, white to brown bread/rice, red meat to chicken
• Useless salt in your foods
• Make a goal for yourself, a sort of 30-day challenge, plan your foods, meal prep, and repeat ❗
  

Stress eating:

To reduce stress:

1. Download: the app 'headspace', or the app 'meditate' 📱
   
2. Plan your day
3. Make time for you ⌛
   
4. Buy this book off amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Minutes-Morning-Focus-Journal/dp/1912023016/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=help+books+5+minutes+in+the+morning&qid=1606559189&sr=8-1
5. Download woebot if you can’t afford a therapist 📱
   
6. Write your feelings down 📝
   
7. Do things you love 💗
   
8. If homework is too much, talk to your teachers about it
9. Have a look at this useful link: http://www.dchs.nhs.uk/assets/public/dchs/llb/tools/tools_1-11/9_DCHS_A5_8pp_Emotional_Eating.pdf

What strategies are out there and do they work?

1. Applications(nutrition apps): I believe they will be useful for much older people. I fear that tracking every detail of your daily consumptions, especially for teenagers, could lead to an eating disorder. Therefore, I personally don’t recommend using apps 📱
   
2. Fake homemade fast-food: is a great way to eat the things you love, but in a more beneficial and tasteful way. Recipescan easily be found on I recommend switching white bread for brown or even lettuce; red meat for chicken and homemade sauces instead. NO DEEP FRIED FOOD ❗
   
3. Eat well guide: by far my favourite, it gives you a visual insight to what your daily intake should include 🥗
   
4. Jamie’s school dinners: he starteda campaign to get milk, salad and vegetables served at schools everyday. He also emphasized the need for water, and wholegrain foods. All of these changes to diets of children promote a healthy outlook on food, and a healthier mindset all through adulthood
5. Applications (‘therapy’ apps): application therapists, like “better help” or if that is too expensive, “woebot” can help with stress reducing emotional eating anxiety 📱
   

Recipe websites

Visit these websites:

https://www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/recipes/

Reflection

• It remains difficult to see what works best for you, butwhether it be apps, new recipes or self-help books, nothing will help you change unless, it’s something you really want ❗
  
• You MUST plan out your goals, using the SMART method, which is easily searchable online 💻
  
• It is important to ensure you havea support network of family and friends who will be there throughout your nutrition journey 👫

Eat well Guide (plate)

• This plate gives you a clear simplified visual forwhat your daily intake of food should be
• Water: Starts off with the recommended 6-8 glasses of water per day, stating fruit juice should be limited as it usually has a high amount of sugar
• Low nutritional foods: crisps, biscuits, sugary drinks, ice creams and similar things are outside of the plate, this is due to the new regulations of healthy eating 🍫
  
• Fruit and veg: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables takeup a large amount of the plate, as they provide some of the most beneficial elements to your health, due to its high number of vitamins and minerals, preventing against deficiencies.
• E.g. A lack of vitamin C (found in kiwis) can result in low immunity or scurvy
• E.g. Alack of iron (found in your greens) can result in a low amount of haemoglobin, which is the red pigment in your blood which sends oxygen around the body, causing anaemia
• Carbohydrates: Ignore the fad diets, we need carbs as they are our main source of energy 🍟
  
• Having wholewheat (brown), instead of your regular white bread and white rice, provides a slower release of energy, thus unlikely to turn into stored energy, which is the visible fat in your body
• Poultry: this is your chicken, fish, eggs, beans; you should eat poultry regularly 🍗
  
• Fish: You also need2 portions of naturally oily fish per week 🍣
  
• Red meat: it is not good for you and causes many diseases such as gout arthritis and it is also high in fat, which isn’t too good to have regularly
• Dairy and fat: must be consumed in moderation

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE! IT STARTS WITH YOU!

• Common Nutritional Challenges for Teenagers: Adolescent Obesity. [online] Available at: https://www.mentalhelp.net/adolescent-development/common-nutritional-challenges/(1)
• NHS Choices (2019). Eat well. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/healthy-eating-for-teens/(2)
• NHS Choices (2009). Diet and mental health in teens - NHS. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/news/mental-health/diet-and-mental-health-in-teens/(3)
• org.uk. (2013). Teenagers - British Nutrition Foundation. [online] Available at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritionscience/life/teenagers.html(4)
• The Economist. (2015). Fast-food nations. [online] Available at: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2015/01/08/fast-food-nations(5)
• Teen Eating Disorders: Statistics and How to Help - Polaris Teen Center. [online] Polaris Teen Center: Premier Adolescent Treatment Center in Los Angeles. Available at: https://polaristeen.com/articles/10-statistics-of-teenage-eating-disorders/(6)
• Big Mac nutritional facts:https://www.eatthismuch.com/food/nutrition/big-mac,433838/
• NHS Choices (2019). What should my daily intake of calories be? [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-should-my-daily-intake-of-calories-be/ (8)
• medicalnewstoday.com. (2018). Emotional eating: How to overcome stress eating. [online] Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320935#coping-strategies.
• Publishing, H.H. (n.d.). Why stress causes people to overeat. [online] Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat#:~:text=Stress%20eating%2C%20hormones%20and%20hunger&text=High%20cortisol%20levels%2C%20in%20combination
• Avoid Unhealthy Eating Habits. [online] WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/avoid-unhealthy-eating-habits#1
• NHS Choices (2019). Eating disorders. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/eating-disorders/.

• (n.d.). 10 Dangerous Side Effects of Not Drinking Enough Water. [online] Available at: http://www.eatingwell.com/article/292133/10-dangerous-side-effects-of-not-drinking-enough-water/.
• New rules for healthy school dinners. (2015). BBC News. [online] 1 Jan. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-30644523.