Best nutrition for school-age children and adolescents should include products from all major food groups, following the so-called food pyramid, namely:
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Cereal products, which provide complex carbohydrates. These are an essential source of energy and should be included in every meal in the form of groats, pasta, and various types of bread.
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Vegetables and fruits, which should accompany every meal as side dishes or snacks.
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Meat, poultry, cold cuts, fish, and eggs, which supply easily absorbed iron, high-quality protein, and vitamins. They should be included in at least one meal per day. The diet should contain more fish and limit the consumption of fatty meats, sausages, and offal.
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Fats, which provide energy and are a source of vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as essential unsaturated fatty acids. Animal fats supply saturated fatty acids, while olive oil and vegetable oils complement the diet with unsaturated ones.
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Milk and dairy products (yoghurt, kefir, various cheeses, cottage cheese), which are an excellent source of easily absorbed calcium. The requirement for this element during periods of rapid growth is very high—800–1200 mg per day—and exceeds that of any other stage of life except pregnancy.
Calcium is the primary building material of bones and teeth (99% of the body’s calcium is stored in them, with only 1% found in soft tissues and body fluids). It is also essential for muscle function, including that of the heart, participates in nerve impulse transmission and blood clotting, and activates enzymes responsible for proper fat digestion.
A low calcium intake in children and adolescents can lead to abnormal bone development, rickets-like changes, and osteoporosis later in life.
Milk contains the highest and most bioavailable amount of calcium.
One glass of milk covers 25% of the daily calcium requirement and, in terms of calcium content, is equivalent to approximately:
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100 g of condensed milk
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400 g of homogenized cheese
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350 g of curd cheese
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50 g of processed cheese
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2 thin slices of hard cheese
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20 dumplings
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2 large loaves of white bread
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2.5 kg of cooked buckwheat
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400 g of cooked soybeans
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5 pork chops
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4 kg of ham
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1 kg of smoked cod
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6 scoops of ice cream
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250 g of walnuts
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1 kg of oranges
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8 kg of apples
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1 kg of cabbage
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1.2 kg of broccoli
When a child begins school, they enter a period of intensive effort, which can be compared to the workload of adults. At the same time, they are undergoing rapid physical development, and their daily routine—both at school and at home—is not always well-structured. For this reason, the nutrition of school-age children requires particular attention, as more mistakes are often made in this age group than in the feeding of younger children.
It is worth emphasizing once again that puberty is a period of very rapid growth and, consequently, peak demand for nutrients. A deficiency in any of the basic food groups can inhibit growth and delay sexual maturation.
It is impossible to precisely determine the daily energy and nutrient requirements for every child due to significant differences in growth rates. During this stage, children and adolescents also begin to develop individual interests. From the perspective of proper nutrition, interest in sports and regular physical activity is particularly important.
Teenage athletes require considerably more energy than their peers with sedentary lifestyles — approximately 800–1700 kcal more per day for every two hours of training.
Proper nutrition education during adolescence is crucial. Developing healthy eating habits at this stage will help ensure lifelong proper nutrition and overall well-being.
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