Healthy eating for teens
Nutrition that supports a growing body without setting up a fraught relationship with food. Practical, body-image-aware, evidence-based.
Why teens need a different approach
Adolescence is the second biggest growth period after infancy. Calorie, protein, iron, calcium and vitamin D needs all rise significantly between the ages of 13 and 18. So does the social and emotional weight food carries. Teens are making more of their own food choices, eating away from home more often, and being bombarded with nutrition messaging from social media that is frequently wrong, sometimes harmful, and almost never evidence-based.
This is also when disordered eating most commonly emerges. As Beat highlights, any advice given to teens has to take that seriously. 'Healthy eating' advice that focuses on restriction, 'good' and 'bad' foods, or body shape can do real harm. The focus should be on adequacy, balance, and building a sustainable relationship with food that will serve a young person well into adulthood.
What a 14-year-old needs from nutrition guidance is fundamentally different from what a 7-year-old or a 30-year-old needs. The physiology is different, the psychology is different, and the social context is completely different. That matters in how I work.
What a balanced diet actually looks like for a teenager
I get asked this a lot, usually by parents who are worried their teen is living on toast and cereal. The reality is that a balanced teen diet doesn't need to look like an Instagram plate. It needs to reliably deliver enough energy, enough protein for growth and repair, adequate iron (especially for menstruating teens), calcium and vitamin D for bone development, and enough variety to cover micronutrient bases.
In practical terms, that usually means three meals and two to three snacks across the day. The NHS Eatwell Guide provides a useful framework: the balance of food groups matters, and what this looks like practically depends on the individual teen. It doesn't need to be complicated, and it absolutely doesn't need to involve superfoods, supplements, or restriction of any food group.
Where I often end up working with families is bridging the gap between what the evidence says teens need and what actually happens in a household where a teenager skips breakfast, buys lunch from the school canteen, and grazes all evening. That's normal teen behaviour and it's workable. The goal is making those patterns adequate, not making them perfect.
Navigating social media and
TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are where most teens get their nutrition information now. Some of it is reasonable. A lot of it isn't. Clean eating, detox diets, 'what I eat in a day' content, gut health protocols, elimination diets presented as lifestyle choices, influencers selling supplements. The volume of unqualified nutrition advice reaching teenagers is genuinely concerning.
In my consultations, I spend a fair amount of time helping teens and their parents evaluate what they're seeing online. My approach isn't to ban social media or dismiss everything, it's to build critical thinking. Who is this person? Are they qualified? Is this advice based on evidence or on their personal experience? Would a registered dietitian say the same thing?
This matters because social media-driven restriction is a common pathway into disordered eating. A teen cuts out gluten because a TikTok said it causes inflammation. Then dairy. Then sugar. Before long, the list of 'allowed' foods is shrinking and anxiety around eating is growing. If your teen is increasingly rigid about food rules they've picked up online, that's worth a conversation, and potentially a consultation.
Puberty, growth spurts, and
Puberty changes everything about nutritional requirements. Energy demands shift significantly during peak growth. Iron requirements nearly double for girls once menstruation starts. Calcium needs peak during adolescence because this is when roughly 40% of adult bone mass is laid down. Protein needs increase to support muscle development and tissue growth.
What this means in practice is that a teen who was eating fine at 11 may genuinely not be eating enough at 14. Growth spurts bring increased appetite, and that appetite is usually appropriate. A teenager eating constantly isn't necessarily a problem. It's often their body doing exactly what it should.
Common questions
A clear plan,
built around your little one.
All consultations are online and you can self-refer directly. You'll receive a written plan after every appointment.
Thorough assessment & plan
Your first appointment is 60 minutes. It includes a full clinical and dietetic assessment, and you'll receive an agreed, written plan to take away.
Review & adjust
Follow-ups are 30 minutes. We review the plan, problem-solve anything that's come up, and adjust guidance as your child progresses.
Currently self-pay only. All fees are VAT-exempt as registered healthcare services. I provide receipts with my HCPC registration details which you can submit to your insurer.