Should healthy teens be counting calories?

alwaysworkinghard wrote: »

I know there is an age limit to mfp but I have known countless teens that regularly use mfp, all are healthy and active. I feel like it is unnecessary for them as it focuses their attention to numerical values. I just realized that they could possibly have a different medical concern they use it for such as making sure they get enough iron, protein, or potassium ect... But most just use it for calories. I know one girl is specific about logging every morsel into mfp to know her calories so she can determine what she can and can’t eat. Technology😂

I always logged as a teen, and looking back, I wish I hadn't. I would have eaten the same things and it really sort of built an obsessive component within myself regarding food. Yes, it built healthy and maintainable tracking habits for adulthood, but I always look back and wish there had been a time when I just ate to eat and didn't log. It's not like I was a crazy athlete. I was always in the gym, but not like I am now - mostly just cardio and random lifting, not program focused lifts and intense cardio like I do now. I feel like using it early on in adulthood is the best time to begin.

Oh also actually knowing how to track your macros and calories would probably be a good thing to learn, at least for women. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes when pregnant. You have to start tracking your carbs immediately, have to be good at it, and your baby's health is at stake. The nutritional counselors who worked with me (I only had one appointment, I didn't need a lot of help) said it was really good that I was already familiar with MFP and counting my calories/carbs/macros. That is a more critical situation than say, needing to lose weight because your BP is high or your are prediabetic. You have to get it down quickly. This would be a good skill to teach kids early, so in the case that women get GD, they will be able to confidently handle it.

Just another example, not like all women will get pregnant or all pregnant women will get GD, but just saying it is a valuable skill to teach kids. Using a program like MFP is a robust way to learn that skill for technology savvy users.

Nah. People overseas who eat normally don't need to track calories. When the weight starts piling on, that's when they should start really learning.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I think times have changed. There's an obesity epidemic with obese parents raising overweight and eventually obese children. I think never before recently should calorie counting have been a part of a child's upbringing, but with kids playing outside less, being taught horrible food habits from their parents, sadly, I believe they should be aware of calories and nutritional needs. It was way better when I was a kid (I'm 56) when it comes to fitness.

Define counting calories?

I mean learning to manage oneself and resources is a skill one ought to learn. Just like one manages money.

Learning moderation is a good skill regardless of age.

It's probably harder for teens as they are still growing, so weight alone isn't a good metric to determine if they are on the right track. However, learning how much is in the food budget for different types of foods is a good skill to learn early so they have a healthy relationship with food.

CSARdiver wrote: »

I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.

Knowing how to count calories is different than actually counting them. There are a number of ways to educate young people on the importance of being healthy in general, that don't involve calorie counting.

It is entirely dependent on the teen and their personality I think. If they are very insecure or are giving any red flags about disordered eating, then the best approach is probably just to focus on nutrition content, activity, and non-scale type measures. If they are of average health mentally, it's good to teach them at least how to read the nutrition panel and to look at calories, and the macros present in each serving. Even if they aren't adding it all up for the day they can at least get a good idea of what's in a serving and what the effects are on their body. They can look at something and be armed with a little better knowledge of how to make healthy choices that are actually lower in calories.
A couple examples (of poor knowledge) I've recently witnessed in my adult life. I was eating dinner with a friend and I was looking up the calories of my sandwich. The contents of which was 7" white bread, fried chicken patty, like 4 slices of cheese, and tomato sauce. I asked what they thought the calories might be? "Oh 400?" they said.. The sandwich was double.. or probably more of what they thought it was. This person was never raised with calories or portion control even being a thing. I have another friend who makes a lot of home made things because it's "healthier" then store-bought. There's nothing wrong with that, but often times the "home made all-natural" version has considerably more calories then the "processed unhealthy" store bought version. (Mayonnaise for example. Store bought may have more ingredients, but it's lower in calories then basic home made) They had a "as long as it's healthy" type upbringing, but I'm not positive calories were ever brought up. They are always following some type of fad diet.

I don't have kids of my own, but I do remember some of my parents (blended family here) teaching me to scrutinize nutrition labels to know what was in them. At the time (Atkins heyday) it was carb and sugar related. But it did arm me with a bit of knowledge to take into my adult years. I also watched them try (and fail) the fad diets of the 2000's, and so calorie counting felt like the sensible choice. I do remember them counting their own calories at one point though, and coming to me with the enlightened "OH MY GOD do you know how many calories are in the Chinese buffet we eat at every weekend?!?! AND THE CARBS?!?!". (Not in a judging way, but in a they just found out they ate 3000cal in one meal sort of way)

It's also important that consistent, open and honest dialogue occurs with the kids too. Just to know what type of mental state their in, and if calorie counting or even worrying about nutrition is appropriate for them. I think WHY is important too. Are they gaining weight and are concerned about it? Do they have body image issues that may be indicative of body dysmorphia? (like being normal weight, or underweight yet thinking their fat) I'm not sure it's always appropriate to bring up calorie counting to THEM. That feels more like a lead by example thing. Like them observing you passing on dessert because you're out of calories for the day. But if they bring it up to *YOU, then I feel like it's important to find out why they feel the need to count, and to teach them how to do it safely, under your supervision. That way you don't find them going on some 600cal a day crash diet they read about on some blog somewhere.

*You, the general audience. Not You, a person in particular.

ExistingFish wrote: »

aokoye wrote: »

CSARdiver wrote: »

I understand the desire for caution around this, but education isn't a driver of eating disorders.

Knowing how to count calories is different than actually counting them. There are a number of ways to educate young people on the importance of being healthy in general, that don't involve calorie counting.

Sure.

"Here are nutrition facts, you can see how many calories are in this, as well as tracked macronutrients such as fat, protein, and carbs..."

"You are supposed to have a balance of macronutrients and a reasonable amount of calories"

BUT DON'T COUNT THEM! How else do you educate about that? What is a better way to know how to count calories than to count calories? Why teach it as only an abstract concept?

Kids learn about all sorts of things without actually doing them. Paying taxes and the creation of laws easily come to mind.
Somehow I think teaching and telling kids in a middle or high school health class to count calories would be a recipe for disaster. There's no knowing whether or not these kids already are clearly predisposed to an eating disorder, already have an eating disorder, etc. Moreover, what does removing the "unhealthy" children do and who going to accurately be able to say what kid is or isn't healthy?

It depends, but I think it would be good for all kids/teens to learn more about calories in vs calories out, how to properly measure and track these things, and how to watch out for potential issues.

As a teen and even all the way through my 20s and into my 30s, I never had to worry about my weight. I understood healthy food and how to read labels, but never worried about calories. Then, when I got a desk job, I got fat. I didn't realize that my healthy eating wasn't good enough anymore, and that CI vs CO was causing me issues. It took far too long before I realized there was a problem going on.

An education on these things as a teen probably would have helped make the learning curve a lot easier.

That being said, once the education part is completed, I would say it depends on the teen and their lifestyle.

I don't see anything wrong with it but in the mid 80s when I was in high school I had no MFP or way to track calories anywhere at the time and still managed to be anorexic for many years on my own. If there's a will there's a way.

I only wish I would have had something like this available to me back then so I would know that what I was doing very very unhealthy and there was a better way to go about making sure I didn't "get fat."