Update of nutrition guidelines for the teen: trends and concerns

Sociocultural influences are known to affect adolescent eating patterns and behaviors. Some teens reject a meat-based diet to become vegetarians; others take up dieting to lose weight or develop an eating disorder. Teens require increased nutrients to provide for the accelerated growth that takes place during these years. Nutritional deficiencies in adolescence can lead to loss of height, osteoporosis, and delayed sexual maturation. Sports also play an important role in many teens' lives. The desire to excel can lead to increased training and prolonged periods of dieting. Disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis describe the "female athlete triad." Although more frequently seen in girls, boys who participate in sports that have an emphasis on size and weight such as wrestling and body building are also at risk for subclinical eating disorders. This paper discusses issues surrounding restrictive and nonrestrictive food patterns of adolescents and their nutritional consequences.

Using standardized patients to train and evaluate dietetics students

Faced with a dwindling number of clinical sites for training dietetics students, we incorporated a standardized patient scenario of a 17-year-old pregnant woman into a nutrition counseling course. A young woman was hired to be the patient and was trained extensively. Each student signed up for a 20-minute block of time to assess her and provide nutrition instruction, after which the standardized patient and course instructor provided individualized feedback to each student. Students then completed a brief questionnaire related to the standardized patient session. Overall, student response to the standardized patient session was positive, and students believed standardized patients should be included formally in undergraduate training. The students noted that the standardized patient session allowed them to be trained and evaluated objectively. Because of their ease in building rapport with the standardized patient, students reported that they were able to provide more in-depth education. They also appreciated the immediate and detailed performance review provided by the standardized patient and the instructor. We conclude that standardized patient sessions provide a great service to dietetics students, and plans to develop another standardized patient scenario that students can follow up throughout the continuum of care are underway.

Diet, activity, and other health-related behaviors in college-age women

Morbidity and mortality data for young women in the United States reflect several health risk behaviors for both acute and chronic disease development. Available data suggest that young women's diets are high in total and saturated fat and low in fiber, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. As a result, diets of young women are frequently low in iron, folate, and calcium. Prevalence of overweight continues to increase significantly in this population, but inappropriate body image concerns and disordered eating patterns are also common. Inactivity, smoking, and weight cycling are patterns that appear to begin early in women's lives. Some data suggest that young women value nutrition quality and are more likely to attempt positive changes than are young men.