It all begins with diet! Nourishing your body with the necessary nutrients. These nutrients are beneficial for the body, helping teenagers to concentrate and achieve in school.

It is important that a teenager eats balanced meals throughout the day to provide them with the energy to achieve in daily life. 

Based on a recent survey conducted by the Year 13 Food and Nutrition class, 95% of the year 9’s surveyed consumed high sugar, salt and fat foods from the canteen, with only 5% purchasing healthy options.

Some ways to encourage your child to ensure they are achieving to the best of their ability, is to implement small changes, which begin at home. Parents and caregivers are building the foundations of the eating patterns their child develops.

Some tips to increase the nutritional value of your teenagers diet is to…

1. Bring a packed lunch from home not money.

2. Replace white bread with whole grain bread.

3. Have a bowl of fruit easily accessible at home.

4. Make your own trail mix.

5. Choose ‘lite’ products such as yoghurts.

6. Encourage your child to bring a water bottle to school and no sugary drinks.

7. Stop buying high sugar foods for your child to consume at school.

Remember, sweets are for treats. So why not try these small changes to help your teenager/s to improve their learning results, thus improving their overall success!

Four Food Groups

Breads and Cereals

These include whole grain bread, as well as breakfast cereals (low in sugar), rice and pasta (noodles, spaghetti).

Fruits and Vegetables

There are always many different fruits and vegetables available. Make a point to try new ones often.

Milk and Milk Products

Low fat or lite, like yoghurt, custard, ice cream, milkshakes, flavoured milk and cheese.

Lean Meats And Alternatives

The alternatives to meat are poultry, cheese, fish, eggs, tofu and legumes and lentils (dried seeds of pod vegetables like peas and beans.