Health refers to a concept that encompasses all dimensions of a person’s life, including physical, social, emotional, and cognitive states. In this sense, health incorporates life satisfaction and quality of life, expressing a gradual increase in self-actualization (Edelman and Mandle, 1998).
Being healthy and improving one's health status is possible through educational, social, and psychological support, which reduces disease risk and enhances well-being. Behaviors related to a healthy lifestyle are generally acquired during childhood and are reinforced throughout adolescence.
For this reason, adolescence offers a second opportunity to structure behaviors that were weak or insufficiently developed in the past. It is a period in which physical and psychological development is at its peak, marking the transition from childhood to adulthood—almost like a test drive for adult life. In adolescence, the body becomes sexualized, and the adolescent gains a physical strength that was absent in childhood, allowing for a new kind of power in relation to adults and parents.
This newfound strength forms the basis of the adolescent’s grandiose attitudes and behaviors. As we speak of growth, maturation, and reaching the peak of physical power, nutrition becomes vitally important and is a determining factor in the trajectory of adulthood.
With the physical changes that occur during this period, the body's nutritional requirements also change. If nutrition during childhood and adolescence is not sufficient, balanced, and appropriate to developmental needs, chronic illnesses may emerge later in life. Inadequate and poor eating habits during adolescence may pave the way for obesity in adulthood, delays in sexual development, resulting sexual identity issues, and various physiological disorders.
Many studies indicate that half of all annual deaths result from unhealthy lifestyle choices made during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Dougherty 1993; Edelman and Mandle 1998; Esin 1997; Fish and Nies 1996; Jackson and Saunders 1993; Spear and Kulbok 2001).
The emergence of eating disorders during adolescence is rooted in the chaos produced by entering puberty and the bodily changes that destabilize the adolescent’s relationship with their body. The adolescent seeks approval not only from society but also from their family regarding their transition into adulthood. This is an approval related to both personal wholeness and their now-sexualized body. An adolescent who does not receive this affirmation wishes to return to a childlike body and tends to destroy the maturing, sexually differentiated body. In this context, the body becomes the medium through which the inner psychic conflicts find expression.
When adolescence is viewed holistically, it becomes clear that cognitive, psychosocial, and physiological transformations of this period cannot be separated from nutritional quality. Insufficient and unbalanced nutrition during adolescence has been shown to shorten attention span, weaken perception, and lead to learning difficulties and behavioral problems.
Therefore, when evaluating adolescent nutrition, the following criteria are important in identifying nutrition-related problems:
- Adolescence is movement. Therefore, assessing physical activity is crucial. The quality and quantity of physical movement provide important clues about physical and emotional well-being. Because adolescents possess seemingly boundless energy, their attempts to cope with anxiety and the physical changes occurring against their will often occur through movement. Due to the high energy expenditure during adolescence, the number of meals and the quality and quantity of food consumed must be considered.
- The menstrual period and any related issues should be evaluated. A study conducted in Norway found that girls who experienced early menarche had an increased risk of being overweight in late adolescence.
- Alcohol, cigarettes, and drug use among some adolescents lead to nutritional deficiencies and serious eating disorders.
- Adolescence is a transitional stage during which psychological problems begin to appear. Therefore, one of the indicators of healthy psychological and physical development during this period is the adolescent’s eating habits. How an adolescent eats serves as a criterion for potential psychological and physical issues that may emerge.
- During adolescence, when significant fat loss occurs, consuming more energy than expended leads to obesity. Adolescents prone to obesity also tend to require more sleep than their peers.
Nutritional behavior in childhood and adolescence should not be evaluated solely as food intake; it should also be understood as the child’s process of gaining autonomy. Particularly in eating disorders that emerge during adolescence, it is evident that parents often adopt an overly controlling, autonomy-inhibiting approach. Such controlling attitudes discourage individuation—one of the defining features of adolescence—and foster dependency. As a result, the adolescent’s efforts toward autonomy are interrupted by parental interference. The conflict experienced leads the adolescent to give up the struggle with controlling family members and instead turn toward the one area they can control: their own body. In eating disorders that arise during adolescence, the theme of control occupies a central place.
