chapter 1 adolescent growth and …（第1章青少年成长和u2026）.pdf

Chapter 1 ADOLESCENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Jamie Stang and Mary Story Biological, psychosocial and cognitive changes that begin during puberty and continue throughout adolescence directly affect nutritional status and nutrient needs. Adolescents experience dramatic physical growth and development during puberty, which in turn appreciably increases their requirements for energy, protein, and many vitamins and minerals. Adolescents also experience significant changes in their ability to assess and comprehend complex situations and information and in their desire to become independent, unique individuals. The increased need for energy and nutrients among adolescents, combined with increasing financial independence, increasing need for autonomy when making food choices, and immature cognitive abilities, places adolescents at nutritional risk. Therefore, it is vital that health care providers who provide nutrition education and counseling have a thorough understanding of adolescent physical and psychosocial growth and development. NORMAL PHYSICAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT The beginning of biological growth and development during adolescence is signified by the onset of puberty, which is often defined as the physical transformation of a child into an adult. A myriad of biological changes occur during puberty including sexual maturation, increases in height and weight, completion of skeletal growth accompanied by a marked increase in skeletal mass, and changes in body composition. The succession of these events during puberty is consistent among adolescents, however, there may be a great deal of deviation in the age of onset, duration, and tempo of these events between and within individuals. For this reason, adolescents of the same chronological age can vary greatly in physical appearance. This has direct relevance for the nutrition re