Teenagers require roughly 1,300mg of calcium per day. Calcium is essential for the development of strong bones and teeth and is particularly important for growing children and teenagers.
A deficiency in calcium can cause diseases such as osteoporosis which causes brittle bones. Good sources of calcium include dairy foods and calcium fortified products such as breakfast cereals.
Osteoporosis is a disease that results in bones becoming brittle and breaking very easily. Bones continue to grow and strengthen until about the age of 30, and the teenage years are an important period in this development. Vitamin D, calcium and phosphorous are vital for this process.
Your teen should eat calcium rich foods at every meal. The source that is highest in calcium in most people's diet is milk and dairy products but there are other foods such as tofu and leafy greens that are also good sources. Encourage your teenager to eat three portions of dairy food each day for instance, a glass of milk, a bowl of fortified cereal with a splash of milk, a 150g pot of yoghurt and a small matchbox-sized piece of cheese. If your teenager doesn’t eat dairy products, try fortified soya milk instead. Dairy foods are often avoided by teenage girls because of concerns about fat content, however -fat dairy foods are equally rich in calcium.
Other great sources of calcium include certain fish (with bones), tofu, and leafy greens. Vitamin D (400 IU a day) is needs to be absorbed each day, sources of calcium that have vitamin D added, such as fortified cereals facilitate this process.
