Published in News
Many of the GACD funding agencies are interested in projects that focus on youth and/or adolescents. So why target young people for NCD prevention? And how significant is nutrition during that period?
The seventh call for applications under the GACD banner focuses on implementation research to reduce the non-communicable disease (NCD) burden by targeting critical life stages and key transitions between life stages in low- and- middle income countries (LMICs) and disadvantaged populations in high income countries (HICs).
Many of the GACD funding agencies are interested in projects that focus on youth and/or adolescents. So why target young people for NCD prevention? And how significant is nutrition during that period?
Sheree Folkes, a Registered Nutritionist (ANutr) and the GACD Administration and Events Officer, tells us more.
Young people form a large proportion of the world’s population
The World Health Organization defines young people as aged 10–24 years, which includes adolescence (ages 10–19) and youth (ages 15-24). Globally, there are nearly 1.8 billion people 10–24 years of age, making up a quarter of the total population of the world, and approximately 89% of these live in LMICs.
A period of phenomenal growth and development
Adolescence is a time of phenomenal growth and development, only surpassed by that of early childhood. On average, between the ages of 10–19, 20% of final adult height and 50% of adult weight is achieved while almost half of peak bone mass is accrued.
Adolescents have an increased demand for energy in the form of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Failure to achieve optimal nutrition at this time can lead to delayed and stunted linear growth and impaired organ function. In addition, conditions such as iron deficiency anaemia, the second leading cause of years lost by adolescents to death and disability in 2019, are common.
Adolescence is a time of new behaviours
In addition to physical transformation, there are significant psychosocial and cognitive changes which can often involve a conflict between a search for independence and the need for economic and emotional family support.
Unique personal identity and value systems are being formed while at the same time exposure to outside influences, such as peer groups and mass media, can lead to risky behaviour such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and experimenting with illicit drugs.
Adolescent pregnancy as an opportunity to impact multiple generations
Teenage pregnancy also requires careful nutritional consideration. Approximately 16 million adolescent girls give birth each year in LMICs. At a time when their bodies are not physically ready for pregnancy, there can be competition for nutrients with the growing foetus. Especially in conditions of undernutrition, this physiological competition can impact the young person’s health and growth, as well as that of the newborn.
Low birthweight is known to be associated with increased rates of coronary heart disease and related disorders such as stroke, hypertension, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes.
The food environment is already causing health problems
Many LMICs now bear the double burden of undernutrition, with high rates of stunting and micronutrient deficiencies, alongside increasing rates of overweight and obesity. Related to a changing food environment and the ‘nutrition transition’ from traditional foods to energy-dense, nutrient-poor processed foods high in fat, salt and sugar, adolescents in LMICs are increasingly showing signs of adverse nutrition-related conditions, including obesity, subclinical cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, in a recent Lancet series on adolescent nutrition, it was noted that despite the importance and potential of this life stage, policies targeting adolescents had largely been overlooked by the UN Decade of Nutrition (2016–2025), the Sustainable Development Goals, and in the WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs.
An opportunity to set up healthy patterns
The willingness of young people to seek out the new can also lead to health-enhancing behaviours such as healthy eating and physical activity. Moreover, evidence suggests that nutrition behaviours track from adolescence into adulthood. Implementation research targeting adolescents around nutrition therefore has the potential to confer significant immediate and long-term health benefits.
Implementing evidence-based nutrition interventions that target young people could be a game-changer for the health of future generations.
Sources
Akseer, N. et al., 2020 . Non-communicable diseases among adolescents: current status, determinants, interventions and policies. BMC Public Health, 1908(20).
Brown, J., 2008. Nutrition Through the Life Cycle. 3rd ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.
Hargreaves, D., Mates, E., Menon, P. & Alderman, H., 2022. Strategies and intervention for healthy adolescent growth, nutrition, and development. The Lancet, 399(10320), pp. 198-201.
Kinyoki, D., Osgood-Zimmerman, A. & Bhattacharjee, N., 2021. Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low-and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018. Nature Medicine, Volume 27, pp. 1761-1782.
Lassi, Z., Mansoor, T. & Salam, R., 2017. Review of nutriton guidelines releventa for adolescents in low- and middle- income countries. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1393(1), pp. 51-60.
Lynette Neufeld, 2022. Food choice in transition: adolescent automony, agency, and the food environment. The Lancet, 399(10320), pp. 185 – 197.
Norris, S., Black, E. F. M. & Dong, Y., 2022. Nutrition in adolescent growth and development. The Lancet, 399(10320), pp. 172-184.
Patton, G., Neufeld, L., Dogra, S. & Frongillo, E., 2022. Nourishing our future:The Lancet Series on adolescent nutrition. The Lancet, 399(10320), pp. 123-125.
World Health Organization, 2022. Adolescent Health. [Online]
Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health#tab=tab_1
[Accessed 22 May 2022].