The holiday season is here and the hearts of the people are filled with excitement and joy getting ready for this cheerful festival. The yuletide season is one of the busiest since preparations are already in full swing. Definitely during this times, it is hard to care for oneself with tables full of delicious foods, from appetizers to main dishes to dessert to drinks and we tend to eat a lot which will lead eventually to weight gain. It may be the season filled with tempting high caloric foods but let’s not forget to be healthy and nutritious.
Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and is something that should be learned at a young age.  Healthy eating during adolescence is important because of accelerated growth rate and changes in body composition including increase in appetite that may affect an individual's nutritional and dietary needs. They also become more independent and heavily influenced by their peers making many food decisions on their own that lack of variety and balance.

In the Philippines, the number of overweight/obesity among teens has reached 9.2% (NNS 2015 DOST-FNRI Facts and Figures). The current status may possibly threaten future generation. To help teens eat right, the Department of Science and Technology- Food and Nutrition Research institute (DOST-FNRI) in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Department of Health and the National Nutrition Council, developed the Pinggang Pinoy, a healthy food plate model which serves as a reminder on how to properly fill up a plate with the right kind and amount of food that meet the body energy and nutrient requirements of different age group.
The Pinggang Pinoy specifically for teens (10 to 19 years old) shows the recommended proportion by food group, Go, Grow and Glow on per meal basis. Half of the plate represents Glow foods consisting of fruits and vegetables. One sixth of the plate shows proportion for Grow foods such as meats, eggs, poultry, fish, beans and legumes. One third of the plate is Go foods like rice, corn, bread, oatmeal, bread and root crops.
We can also refer to the 10 key nutrition messages of the Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos that help address various nutritional dietary problems and improve nutritional well-being.
More importantly, every adolescent should be taught about the value of good nutrition for they are the future of our society, thus, keeping them healthy should be the concern for all.
If you are ready to make changes, let’s enjoy this holiday season by having healthy food options.
(by:RALaurito/NOIIIFlores/NPC)