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Happy Tummy Expert

1 year ago

Dear Nandini, Thank you for the question

Adolescence or teen age is a critical period of our lives in which our body undergoes rapid changes, growth and development. It is very essential to consume a healthy balanced diet with adequate amount of protein and other nutrients such as calcium, iron, vitamin D etc., which will help support growth, development, pubertal changes and strong bones.

An adolescent girl should take enough calcium rich foods in her diet to support the increase of bone density and maintain healthy strong bones. Some of the calcium sources include milk, cheese, paneer, Ragi, curd, yogurt.

Reference weight and height for a 19-year-old female is 48.1-59.5kg and 155.3-166.9cm respectively

The causes of underweight or unintended weight loss can be due to genetics, inadequate food intake, stress, hormonal imbalance, malabsorption or other underlying health condition.

In any weight management programme, it is very essential to consume a healthy diversified balanced diet with few dietary modifications and regular physical activity. For weight gain it is essential to focus on your daily balanced diet with high calorie, high protein, and regular meals. With any weight gain diet, changes take time to reflect as your body requires sufficient time to adapt to the changes in order to show results.

A high calorie and high protein diet is recommended for weight gain. High protein foods give a feeling of satiety, delay gastric emptying and help in maintain lean body or muscle mass . Daily protein requirement should ideally be followed as 0.8-1g per kg body weight. You can include non-vegetarian sources of protein such as chicken, eggs, fish, prawns etc and vegetarian sources Milk & milk products like paneer, Legumes, lentils, beans (chickpeas, kidney, mung, pinto etc.), peas (green, split, etc.), soybeans (and products made from soy: tofu, tempeh, etc.), peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, hemp seeds, squash and pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds as a part of your daily balanced diet

Here are a few general Dietary guidelines to be considered for weight gain

• Adolescence represents a period of active life, hence no meal of the day should be missed to sustain energy and growth spurts
• Having a Healthy Diversified Balanced Diet that includes all the 5 food groups (cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk & milk products) in the right quantity which thereby provides you with all the essential macro and micro nutrients that your body requires daily for proper functioning.
• Maintain a positive energy balance where the calorie intake should be more than the energy expenditure.
• Include energy dense foods, keeping in mind the daily needs. Some of the energy dense foods include Whole wheat, Multigrain, millets, dairy products, nuts, colocasia leaves, banana, raisins, pulses/lentils etc.
• Do not skip meals. Eat small frequent meals.
• Three major meals a day with healthy nutritious snacks in between is preferred.
• Include good amount of fiber in your daily balanced, some of the good sources of fiber include whole grain, multigrain, millets, fruits and vegetables, nuts etc.
• Try to increase the serving size and portion size gradually and systematically
• Include healthy fats from nuts and seeds.
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day to maintain hydration
• Indulging in physical activity can help in increasing the appetite and give a feeling of hunger.
• Try to follow a good sleep regimen in terms of both quantity and quality.

There can be various factors that can cause hair fall  like genetics, hormonal balance, stress and/or underlying health condition etc, some other factors that may affect the hair health include infections, nutrient deficiencies etc. Healthy Hair requires, dietary modifications, regular physical activity, stress management and adequate sleep along with proper hydration.

Here are a few tips for healthy hair

• Inadequate intake of protein can result in hair changes that include hair thinning and hair loss. Some of the sources of high protein include pulses, lentils, milk, paneer, soybean, eggs, lean meat, nuts & seeds etc.
• Low intake of iron may also cause hair loss. The richest sources of heme iron in the diet are lean meat and seafood and non-heme sources include nuts, beans, dark green leafy vegetables, and fortified grain, milk, whole grains, legumes and dry fruits etc.
• Zinc is a mineral that plays important roles in immune function, protein synthesis, cellular division. It’s necessary for hair follicle function and helps protect against hair follicle shrinkage. It also helps promote hair follicle recovery Plant products such as – whole grains, legumes such as chickpeas, groundnuts, lentils, Nuts & seeds like cashews, pumpkin seeds, almonds etc. Animal products such as- meat, seafoods (fish, prawns, crab, chicken, eggs, milk and milk products.
• Omega -3 & omega-6 fatty acid may help promote hair growth by working towards follicle proliferation. Some of the most common sources of omega 3 & 6 are Fish, nuts and seeds such as walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.

For a customised and personalised meal plan for specific conditions, please contact your Health care professional.

Hope we have answered your query.

Wishing you a great day ahead

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