Food, Nutrition, Health and Fitness

Requirement means the amount of a nutrient actually needed by an individual to maintain health. It varies from person to person depending on age, sex, activity level and physiological state.

RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) is the amount of nutrient recommended for daily consumption so as to cover the needs of practically all healthy individuals. It is not an individual’s exact requirement, but a guideline that includes a margin of safety.

So, requirement = actual need, while RDA = requirement + safety margin.

Food groups simplify planning of balanced meals because foods with similar characteristics are put together, and then a person can ensure that each group is included in the diet.

This helps in three ways:
- It makes it easy to check whether the meal contains all essential nutrients.
- It reminds us to include foods in correct proportions and in adequate amounts.
- It provides variety within each group, since foods in the same group are similar but not identical in nutritive value.

The five food groups used in India are cereals, pulses, milk/meat products, fruits and vegetables, and fats and sugars. Using them, one can plan meals that promote good health and also maintain acceptable body weight.

The protective food group mainly includes fruits and vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins and minerals. They are called protective foods because they supply nutrients that help protect the body from disease and maintain health.

Ten examples are:
1. Mango
2. Guava
3. Orange
4. Papaya
5. Watermelon
6. Spinach
7. Amaranth
8. Drumstick leaves
9. Carrot
10. Cauliflower

Reason: These foods are rich in carotenoids, vitamin C, folic acid, calcium, iron, and fibre, so they help protect the body and support good health.

Several factors influence eating behaviour during adolescence:

- Growing independence: Adolescents begin to question authority and make their own choices about food.
- Family influence: Parents shape habits early by offering a range of nourishing foods; family eating patterns remain important.
- Peers: Friends can influence food choices and may provide either support or pressure.
- Television and advertising: Food commercials and media images strongly affect teenagers, especially for foods high in sugar and fat.
- Easy availability of ready-to-eat food: Home delivery, vending machines, fast-food outlets, movies and sports events make food easy to get, so adolescents may eat more often and choose less healthy foods.
- Busy schedule and social life: Adolescents often eat rapidly, away from home, and irregularly.
- Desire for thinness and body image concerns: This can lead to skipping meals or dieting.
- Lifestyle and activity level: Sporty, active adolescents may snack more, while sedentary ones may overeat.

These influences are important because they affect whether adolescents develop healthy eating habits or unhealthy patterns such as skipping meals, frequent snacking on junk food, or dieting unsafely.

The two eating disorders mentioned are anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

### 1. Anorexia nervosa
This is an eating disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with being very thin, eats very little or stops eating, and believes she or he is fat even when undernourished. It is associated with body-image distortion, low self-esteem, depression, and can become life-threatening.

### 2. Bulimia
This usually begins after repeated unsuccessful dieting. The person has episodes of binge eating and then tries to remove the food by vomiting or using laxatives. It can cause serious health problems such as irregular heartbeats, renal failure and dental erosion.

### Best way to prevent them
The best prevention is to develop healthy eating habits and a positive self-image rather than dieting unsafely. Important measures are:
- eat balanced diets,
- include enough dietary fibre,
- avoid crash diets and unsupervised dieting,
- use nutrient/food supplements only where needed,
- and learn to value one’s uniqueness and maintain regular exercise.

In short, replacing the idea of “dieting” with healthy eating is the best prevention.