11 Year Old Boys: A Guide to Healthy Eating for Children

11 year old boys

11 year old boys are neither fully grown, adults nor babies. They mostly touch their teenage or adolescence. During this age, there are several changes in the 11 year-old boy behavior.

Parents must understand that an 11 year-old boy hormones change significantly. These changes can be really hard to predict. Moreover, they are in a stage when their body is growing, demanding more food. Therefore, it is necessary to follow a proper diet chart for them.

Many parents often fail to fulfill the nutritional requirements of 11 year old boys because they aren’t familiar with them.

Nutritional Requirement in 11 year old boys

When your child starts attaining the age of 11, you will gradually notice changes in behavior and way of talking. Well, the 11 year-old boy behavior changes due to hormonal changes. Moreover, it is during this age that they step up to make decisions for themselves. Whether you are preparing lunch for them or packing their school food, they will interfere.

It is necessary to keep a count on what they are eating and how their body is reacting to it. This helps to ensure they are making healthy food choices. They need whole and unprocessed foods that lack sugar, saturated fats, and sodium. Moreover, 11 year-old boy hormones need a sufficient amount of lean proteins, vegetables, and foods.

Calories count

Calories are an extremely important factor to consider for your child. As parents, it is your responsibility to keep an eye on what the 11 year old boys are eating. If the kids consume more calories than their age requires, they will end up gaining weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, there has been a massive increase in child obesity in the past four decades. Poor nutrition and high-calorie content are some of the main reasons why so many kids are suffering.

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According to the calculation, an 11 year old boy needs to consume only 1600 to 2200 calories every day. Furthermore, if your child is active, they will keep up with the calorie ranges. However, the child should be able to maintain a healthy weight in their growth period. Consuming too much or too little can prove to be harmful to the child. Thus, parents need to keep an eye on what the child is eating and how much.

Do they need a balance?

The 11 year-old boys need to bring a proper balance in their food consumption. It is essential to provide a balanced diet to children in their growing years. The best thing to do in such a time is to provide a balanced diet to their children. The diet should consist of a sufficient amount of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

The healthiest food choices for growing kids include whole-wheat bread, pasta, oats, brown rice, and more. It is necessary to ensure that the child consumes around 2-½ cups of vegetables. You may as well follow the height and growth chart for kids. The chart would give you an understanding of what the child needs most and at what age.

What should be a part of your child’s diet?

The 11 year old boy has just stepped into his growing years. This is a time when he has started to understand things around him a little. While he may want to make his food choices, you shouldn’t allow this. This is mostly because the child is still growing and will always yearn for unhealthy food. It would help if you focused on ensuring that the child consumes healthy food.

Some of the most important nutrients that should be a part of your child’s diet include the following:

Fruits

While growing children should mostly consume fresh fruits, you can also provide them juice. However, make sure that the fruit juice isn’t a canned one but a homemade one.

Vegetables

The next thing you need to offer your kids is a bowl of fresh vegetables. Cooked, sauteed, canned, or frozen, you need to ensure that the child consumes fresh vegetables. Vegetables are a great dose of potassium for children.

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Dairy

Fat-free or low-fat products can be healthy for your child. Whenever you purchase dairy products, it is advisable to check the fat content. Some of the most popular choices include cheese, yogurt, and milk.

Protein

In the growing years, the child needs a sufficient amount of protein. Hence, you need to ensure that the child is eating enough. Some of the gold sources for healthy protein in your children include poultry, eggs, unsalted nuts, and seeds.

Smart snacks are the road to energy

healthy food for 11 year olds

These growing kids spend a lot of energy jumping from one corner to another. Therefore, you need to ensure that they get good snacks. Rather than junk snacks, it would help if you focused on healthy snacks. Some of the good snacks children can enjoy are cheese sticks, trail mix, popcorn, and vegetables. However, you need to prevent your child from consuming extra sweet foods because it can lead to fat and sugar accumulation. Furthermore, it will also affect the daily recommended amount of calories.

What food to limit for children?

While it is tempting to consume sweets and sugar, you need to ensure that they don’t eat too many sweets. Consumption of sweets and fats affects the daily calorie intake in children. Some of the foods to limit for your children include the following

Added sugar

Added sugar is delicious, but it is equally harmful. It can make the child obese. You should promote the consumption of natural sugars rather than added sugars. Some of the added sugars to avoid corn syrup, honey, brown sugar, and more.

Sodium

While sodium is helpful for the body, too much of it can be harmful to it. Sodium should not be a part of your daily diet. It would help if you encourage children to eat fruits and vegetables rather than cookies and chips.

Final thoughts

The 11 year old boys need to have a healthy diet so that they can grow healthily. Furthermore, it is necessary to keep a check on what your child consumes and how much. The daily food intake capacity is necessary to consider.