Healthy Eating in Vegetarian Teens

Are all teenagers as healthy as the world thinks they are? Nutrition is a big part of our daily living. Children are taught in school how to eat healthy and about the different food groups. This is an important lesson for children to learn. However, vegetarian teenagers seem to “fall between the cracks” when nutrition is taught. Even though some vegetarian teens are healthy, educating them on nutrition, health risks and benefits is very important. Healthy eating is an important part of life. Eating the right balance of food and exercising leads to a healthy life with less health issues. At times, eating a balanced diet may be difficult to accomplish. For instance, does a vegetarian obtain the same amount of nutrients as a non- vegetarian? There are many reasons for a person to become a vegetarian. Whether it is one or more reasons for converting; everyone has his or her own beliefs. Some of the reasons may be personal health, environment, economic concerns, world hunger concerns, compassion for animals, belief in non-violence, food preferences, or spiritual reasons. Most people hear the word vegetarian and think of a meatless diet. This is true; however, there are three different kinds of vegetarians. There are the vegans, which are strict vegetarians. They exclude all animal products (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, and honey). The lacto-vegetarians exclude meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. Then there are the lacto-ovovegetarians, which exclude meat, poultry, and fish. (Brown University, 2008) Vegetarian teens need to be educated on nutrition, so that they will eat a proper diet and be healthier. Teenagers are more consumed with fashion, popularity, and relationships. They do not think about the future. Healthy eating is the last thing on their mind. The food pyramid for vegetarians is slightly different from the regular food pyramid. The vegetarian pyramid consists of six categories. The first category is the bread, cereal,

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