A Little of What You Fancy

Ask any group of teenagers in the UK what they most like to eat， and foods like pizzas，curries， pasta[意大利面]， burgers and chips are bound to get a mention—and many young people would probably also list hanging out at the local fast-food restaurants as one of their favourite pastimes[消遣].

But what teenagers like to eat is not necessarily what they should be eating. According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey， far too many young people in the UK between the ages of four and 18 consume too much fat， sugar and salt in their diet and take in too many calories. Meanwhile their intake of starchy carbohydrates[含淀粉的碳水化合物]， fibre， iron， vitamins and calcium[鈣] is too low.

For a growing body， eating foods containing plenty of calcium， such as milk， yoghurt[酸奶] and cheese， is particularly important as calcium is essential for the development of healthy， strong bones. Similarly， foods that are rich in iron are good for young， rapidly developing bodies， so red meat， bread， green vegetables， dried fruit and fortified[加強的] breakfast cereals[谷類] are also recommended.

It is during our teenage years that lifestyle habits can become entrenched[確立的]， so it is crucial that young people are educated about what foods are good for them. In 2005， in an attempt to change eating habits and open teenagers’ minds to new flavours and tastes， celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched a “Feed Me Better” campaign. As part of a television series， “Jamie’s School Dinners”， he worked with teachers and cooks in a number of schools across the UK to provide more healthy， nutritious school meal options. Although there was initial resistance from some teenagers and parents， the campaign was generally hailed as a huge success and helped to influence governmental policy on nutritional standards for school meals.

No one expects to end the teenage love affair with fast and junk food but， hopefully， if projects like “Feed Me Better” and the Government’s own “Change4Life” campaign continue to spread the right messages， more young people will understand the importance of balancing occasional treats with heathier food options.

Activity

Read through the article and put the foods below into the right column.

pizza， red meat， milk， fortified cereals， curries， yogurt， burgers， chips， green vegetables， dried fruit， cheese， pasta.

Foods containing fat and sugar

Foods containing iron Foods containing calcium

Solutions for Activity

fat and sugar： pizzas， curries， burgers， chips， pasta

iron： red meat， fortified cereals， green vegetables， dried fruit

calcium： milk， yoghurt， cheese