Teen facts

Teenagers have a reputation for bad eating habits. They go overboard with junk foods and fast foods, follow fad diets, skip meals, and don't get enough of the nutrient-rich foods that their growing bodies need. Nutritionists say such extreme eating habits can be dangerous.
Ironically, the nutrients that teenagers need the most in those peak growth years they don't get, says Sheila Kelly, a clinical dietitian at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Kelly says peer pressure, on-the-go lifestyles and dual-working parents relying heavily on convenience foods contribute to teens' poor eating habits. The media also has an influence, she says.
Extreme Eating Facts
Two-thirds of all teenage girls in the United States have abnormal eating behavior and one half are severely undernourished.
At least one American child in five is overweight.
About nine out of 10 young women and nearly seven out of 10 young men ages 12 to 19 are not getting the recommended calcium.
About 80 percent of 10-year-old girls and 50 percent of 9-year-old girls in the United States have been on a diet.