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Should healthy teens be counting calories?
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amusedmonkey wrote: »This is like asking should kids be introduced to accounting.
Counting calories and managing a budget is just a mechanism to control variables.
If you have disordered thoughts about managing or obsessing about calories this is a separate issue which needs to be addressed. Counting calories just exposed this behavior - not the cause of the behavior.
These are my thoughts too. I'm not ashamed that I'm counting calories nor am I doing something wrong. It isn't my punishment for getting fat, just the tool I'm using to get less fat. I don't consider it a taboo subject with kids if handled with care, but I'm in the minority.
There's a foundational logical flaw at the base of this - that "normal" eating exists or can be defined. It does not.
If it does prove it.
Moreso - prove it without calorie counting.3 -
Sure, if you want them to develop an eating disorder.14
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Why would a healthy teen need to?1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.
I think awareness and knowledge and understanding the concept is one thing...actively counting for a healthy teen seems over the top. I'd guess it would result in more ED than anything.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.
I think awareness and knowledge and understanding the concept is one thing...actively counting for a healthy teen seems over the top. I'd guess it would result in more ED than anything.
Does knowledge of accounting and budgeting cause spending disorders? Seems to be a solution as opposed to a root cause.
I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.7 -
I think it would depend on the circumstances including how it's presented, the emotional maturity of the teen, whether the teen is actually interested in learning about it, etc. IOW, I think it would be a very individual thing. I certainly wouldn't want it taught in schools or anything like that.0
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My kids are little now, but I don't see any problem in helping them track their food for a few weeks as preteens or teens, and showing them how it hashes out health-wise. I would consider it a learning opportunity while we discuss healthy eating and I'd welcome their participation in helping with the family meal choices based on what they learned. All just ideas. I'm going to homeschool, so a hands on approach to learning about nutrition might be useful. It's all speculation at this point.1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.
I think awareness and knowledge and understanding the concept is one thing...actively counting for a healthy teen seems over the top. I'd guess it would result in more ED than anything.
Does knowledge of accounting and budgeting cause spending disorders? Seems to be a solution as opposed to a root cause.
I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.
I just don't see how it's necessary. Millions of people maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle without physically counting calories.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.
I think awareness and knowledge and understanding the concept is one thing...actively counting for a healthy teen seems over the top. I'd guess it would result in more ED than anything.
Does knowledge of accounting and budgeting cause spending disorders? Seems to be a solution as opposed to a root cause.
I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.
I just don't see how it's necessary. Millions of people maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle without physically counting calories.
Obesity statistics don't prove necessity?
As the necessity for activity diminishes we will need to react accordingly. Calorie counting is one effective means to manage this. It also debunks much of the diet/fitness industry woo and could provide an element of consumer protection.4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.
I think awareness and knowledge and understanding the concept is one thing...actively counting for a healthy teen seems over the top. I'd guess it would result in more ED than anything.
Does knowledge of accounting and budgeting cause spending disorders? Seems to be a solution as opposed to a root cause.
I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.
I just don't see how it's necessary. Millions of people maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle without physically counting calories.
Obesity statistics don't prove necessity?
As the necessity for activity diminishes we will need to react accordingly. Calorie counting is one effective means to manage this. It also debunks much of the diet/fitness industry woo and could provide an element of consumer protection.
But we're talking about healthy teens which I would interpret to mean at a healthy weight. With my kids I primarily focus on good nutrition, regular activity, and exercise and my wife and I also provide living examples of that for them.
Counting calories was a useful tool for me to lose weight...I just don't see why someone who's healthy and living a healthy lifestyle would need to calorie count. My wife and I are the only people we know who've ever counted calories. The vast majority of our friends are very healthy, lean, and fit individuals and none of them have ever counted calories.2 -
I guess it depends on how its presented to the teen. Some people may have issues with counting calories to where it might lead to obsession or eating disorders but I think that’s true for adults as well. I wouldn’t necessarily want my teen counting calories, I’d prefer to encourage them to make healthier food choices and be active. But I wouldn’t say that them counting calories is inherently a bad thing. If they become too obsessed over it I think it’s a bad thing, and i feel the same for adults too.1
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I'm 20 now and have used MFP for a couple of years. I don't use it to obsessively count calories, I use it to track sugar intake because I used to eat so much sugar it made me ill (I'm talking would eat a family sized chocolate bar as a snack before dinner and then have two desserts after dinner. Plus whatever other sweets and cake bars and biscuits I'd had during the day. Can you say sweet tooth?!). I still eat too much of it but I have a better idea of how much my intake should be, where I'm getting most sugar from and can make better choices because I'm more informed.
I think people becoming aware of what they're eating is important. Not as means to lose weight necessarily, but as a way of possibly reducing the risk of becoming overweight. MFP can be used by people who need to lose weight so why not use it to help people understand their bodies requirements before it gets to the stage of needing to lose weight?1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Why would a healthy teen need to?
So they have the tools to budget effectively when their activity decreases.
I think awareness and knowledge and understanding the concept is one thing...actively counting for a healthy teen seems over the top. I'd guess it would result in more ED than anything.
Does knowledge of accounting and budgeting cause spending disorders? Seems to be a solution as opposed to a root cause.
I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.
I just don't see how it's necessary. Millions of people maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle without physically counting calories.
Obesity statistics don't prove necessity?
As the necessity for activity diminishes we will need to react accordingly. Calorie counting is one effective means to manage this. It also debunks much of the diet/fitness industry woo and could provide an element of consumer protection.
But we're talking about healthy teens which I would interpret to mean at a healthy weight. With my kids I primarily focus on good nutrition, regular activity, and exercise and my wife and I also provide living examples of that for them.
Counting calories was a useful tool for me to lose weight...I just don't see why someone who's healthy and living a healthy lifestyle would need to calorie count. My wife and I are the only people we know who've ever counted calories. The vast majority of our friends are very healthy, lean, and fit individuals and none of them have ever counted calories.
I'm of the mind that education is good. Regardless you're giving them a tool to add to their toolbox so that when they need it, they have it.
I didn't read that much into "healthy teens". I do the same with my kids and promote activity primarily, but also make them aware of calorie content. I don't see the plus side of not exposing kids to this. Knowledge of calories or counting isn't causing eating disorders. It may expose it, but it isn't causal.3 -
Education is GOOD. How many people come on this website and it's the first time they ever realize the macros in their food? What if they learned about it and actually practiced it before it became a medical necessity to lose weight? What if they went into life with a better understanding of eating a balanced diet and how to actually achieve that?2
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ExistingFish wrote: »Education is GOOD. How many people come on this website and it's the first time they ever realize the macros in their food? What if they learned about it and actually practiced it before it became a medical necessity to lose weight? What if they went into life with a better understanding of eating a balanced diet and how to actually achieve that?
Parents can't teach healthful eating and balanced diet without sitting their kids down and having them fill out food diaries?
I think for the most part, the way kids eat emulates the way the parents eat/ate. We eat pretty healthfully at my house and we're an active family. My kids are well aware of what they need to be eating for a healthful diet and at 6&8 don't have a clue what a calorie is...that will knowledge will come later, but I don't see any reason to have your kids sit down and count calories and keep a diary when there isn't an issue to begin with.
I also wonder what pediatricians would think about this. I know my niece was having some weight issues for awhile and her pediatrician told her parents not to talk about dieting or calories, but rather focus on nutrition, proper portions, snacking at appropriate times, being more active, etc. as to avoid giving her a complex. She no longer has weight issues and not a single calorie was counted or mentioned and the family on the whole is eating much more healthfully.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »Education is GOOD. How many people come on this website and it's the first time they ever realize the macros in their food? What if they learned about it and actually practiced it before it became a medical necessity to lose weight? What if they went into life with a better understanding of eating a balanced diet and how to actually achieve that?
Parents can't teach healthful eating and balanced diet without sitting their kids down and having them fill out food diaries?
I think for the most part, the way kids eat emulates the way the parents eat/ate. We eat pretty healthfully at my house and we're an active family. My kids are well aware of what they need to be eating for a healthful diet and at 6&8 don't have a clue what a calorie is...that will knowledge will come later, but I don't see any reason to have your kids sit down and count calories and keep a diary when there isn't an issue to begin with.
I also wonder what pediatricians would think about this. I know my niece was having some weight issues for awhile and her pediatrician told her parents not to talk about dieting or calories, but rather focus on nutrition, proper portions, snacking at appropriate times, being more active, etc. as to avoid giving her a complex. She no longer has weight issues and not a single calorie was counted or mentioned and the family on the whole is eating much more healthfully.
I guess I was thinking older kids. Like high school. Especially if they are in athletics. We ate healthy-ish growing up. I never struggled with weight until my metabolism slowed down in college. I had to learn more about it myself. Yeah I had the idea growing up, meals should be cooked at home, balance of starchy carbs and "other" veggies. I had no idea the impact having two or three rolls with dinner had though, or just how soda stacked up against other sugary things. I didn't know the importance of protein or anything else. When I was in college, it was all you can eat at the caf, and fast food with friends. I had the idea that these things were unhealthy, but I had a hard time putting values to it.
Of course, we were also taught budgeting and that didn't keep me from being horrible with money for my first few adult years either. Education only goes so far.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I don't see any reason to have your kids sit down and count calories and keep a diary when there isn't an issue to begin with.
My point is that there isn't an issue now, but 10 years down the road? Educating people when they are young and adept at learning may help them in the future when they don't have a young persons metabolism and they might actually want to control what they are eating.
I'd never encourage kids to keep it up long term. But for a month and then write a paper on what they learned for a health credit? Sounds like an ideal hands on experience.
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ExistingFish wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »I don't see any reason to have your kids sit down and count calories and keep a diary when there isn't an issue to begin with.
My point is that there isn't an issue now, but 10 years down the road? Educating people when they are young and adept at learning may help them in the future when they don't have a young persons metabolism and they might actually want to control what they are eating.
I'd never encourage kids to keep it up long term. But for a month and then write a paper on what they learned for a health credit? Sounds like an ideal hands on experience.
That was exactly the case for me. The food we ate was predominantly nutritious and still is, I just liked food too much and had a bigger appetite than average. I counted calories for a short while when I learned about it in school. I was 9 at the time and only slightly overweight. I didn't count to lose weight (I didn't feel I needed it), I counted because I was fascinated with the concept. My parents didn't encourage it or discourage it, they just let me do my own thing. They even bought me a calorie list booklet to play with when I asked for one.
I ended up losing interest after about a month or probably less, as kids do, and kept gaining weight over the years to the point where I was obese (still eating nutritious foods). When it finally clicked and I decided to lose weight, I didn't have to go through the usual diet and fad hopping. I was armed with the knowledge and experience to turn straight to calorie counting, and here I am.5 -
My teenagers counting calories? IF...there was a driving medical event that necessitated it and it was recommended by a physician. Those conditions do not exist, nor are they likely to exist.
It might be enlightening as an experiment to have them write down what they eat for a week and compare it to nutritional guidelines. It would be more of a 'how do you get enough nutrition to feed your body' kind of conversation, not a weight loss thing. If it gets them to eat at least some vegetables I'm down.1
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