This is may be a very familiar experience for parents of teenage boys- that feeling of being eaten out of your own house by your incessantly hungry teenage sons! It may sound funny now, but the truth is that it doesn’t always sound very funny when Bank Accounts are affected as a result of this. Lol! But teenage boys need to eat anyway! This is because most teenage boys experience one or more growth spurts during their teen years. Consequently, they need sufficient calories to fuel their growth demands. On average, boys between eleven-thirteen years of age need between 1,800 to 2,600 calories a day to keep fit. Those between the ages of fourteen-eighteen need between 2,200 and 3,200 calories a day. These figures are according to famed Nutritionist Roberta Duyff…
Indeed, boys need to consume these calories to fuel their tremendous growth. Moreover, because they consume a lot of calories [unlike girls], they need to eat a lot in order to survive. More so, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that teenagers who engage in a lot of physical activities need to eat a lot due to the high rate of energy they utilize while exercising for instance. And without doubt, teenage boys certainly do engage in lots of physical activities. So they need their foods, especially the high-energy ones such as carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein, fruits and vegetables etc.
Agreed, some teenage boys are always hungry just because they can’t stop eating! These ones lack self-control and can keep eating like birds morning till night so long as available foods are tasty and enjoyable. They eat a lot of comfort foods such as chips, cookies and any convenient foods that are easy to prepare and contain appetizing salts, fats and sugars. Some may even get in the bad habit of binge eating — eating unusually large amounts of food even when they are not hungry. However, cases of eating disorder are usually uncommon among teenage boys. Therefore, this may not be the reason why teenage boys eat a lot especially here in Nigeria.
Whatever the case, the truth remains that Parents of teenage boys who eat a lot may often have trouble keeping up with this sort of eating habit. The refrigerators and cupboards will always be devoid of supplies and as mentioned earlier, Bank Accounts will feel the impact negatively! But not to worry because as long as the boys are eating a healthy, balanced diet and your pocket can support the inconvenience, then you can survive. Just bear in mind that your boys are developing both physically and mentally and as such need as many bitables as they can get. If as a parent you have a teenage boy who is obsessing over his weight, then [perhaps] you should be worried. It is absolutely normal for that meat to suddenly disappear from the pot, mums! Okay maybe not so normal… But better be prepared for it.
Peace!
