Macronutrients in the Active Teens Diet

Macronutrients are the nutrients that the body needs in large amounts to function properly. Macronutrients include fat, protein and carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for any person. That is because they are the easiest to access and burn for fuel. Each gram of carbohydrate has a total of four calories. Also, out of the three macronutrients, carbohydrates have the least amount of energy. What makes them important is that they are the easiest to burn. So, the next time you are waiting in the starting blocks of your 100m sprint, you will know that you are going to burn carbohydrates. There are different types of carbohydrates, but the two main ones are simple and complex carbs. The scientific name for simple sugars is monosaccharides and dissacharides. Simple carbohydrates are found fruits and sports drinks. For an active teen, you get some energy from simple carbohydrates, but the bulk of carb intake should be from complex carbohydrates. The scientific name for complex carbohydrates is polysaccharides. This type of carbohydrate found in foods such as rice, bread, and pasta. These carbs can be more nutritious for the body and give more energy than the simple carbs do. The recommended daily intake of carbohydrates should be around 60-65% of the total caloric intake for an athlete. This means if you intake 3,000 calories, about 1,800-1,950 of them should come from carbohydrates.

The next type of macronutrient is fat.Each gram of fat is equivalent to four calories. Everybody needs to intake fat to survive, but too much of this macronutrient can be detrimental to your health. Fat has more than two times the calories as protein and carbohydrates. The only problem is the energy can’t be quickly accessed. So, the body uses fat as energy on less intense workouts/activities or activites of longer duration. There are many different types of fats, and each does a different thing for the body. We all know about trans fat, which is the worst type of fat. Trans fat is usually found in manufactured foods that contain partially hydrogenated oil. Trans fat is directly related to increasing you risk of heart disease. Saturated fats are also a pretty common fat, although they are not as detrimental as trans fat. The healthiest types of fats, are the unsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are some of the healthier fats found in food. Research on these types of fats show that they might be able to help lower your cholesterol levels. Some types of foods that provide these fats are: vegetable oils, and nuts. The recommended daily intake of fat per day is about 25% of the total caloric intake. So if you intake 3,000 calories, about 750 of those should come from fat.


Protein is the last macronutrient that helps the body function. Protein is very much needed to the growth of skin, hair, bones, tendons and muscles. What most people know proteins for, is to get bigger muscles. This is just a myth, lifting weights and actually working gets you bigger muscles. Although, protein will help this, a diet full of protein will not get you bigger, it might actually hurt you. Too much, protein can cause kidney problems. As a whole, protein is a major part of how the body carries out daily functions. . Each gram of protein is equal to four calories worth of energy. The recommended daily intake of protein is between 10-15% of the total calorie intake. So if you are intaking around 3,000 calories a day, then 300-450 of those calories should come from protein. Some good sources of protein are poultry, low fat milk, eggs and lean red meat.