Southampton researchers are calling for more studies into the effect of nutrition during adolescence.
In a series of papers published in the Lancet, the nutrition experts also encourage greater involvement from young people in driving health policy in the UK and internationally.
Adolescence is a time of rapid changes. Nutrition has a formative role in the timing and pattern of puberty, with consequences for adult height, muscle, and fat mass. It is also a factor for the risk of non-communicable diseases in later life.
Research has shown that the lifestyle choices teenagers make can have an effect of the health of their future children.
A neglected age group
The Lancet series underlines the effect of nutrition on adolescent growth and development. It discusses the role the food environment has on food choices and which strategies and interventions might lead to healthy adolescent nutrition and growth.
Professor Mary Barker, Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Science at the University of Southampton, said: “There has been a lot of emphasis on early childhood nutrition research and rightly so. However, adolescence is an additional important phase of life that has direct consequences on health in later life and the health of their children.
“Yet this important age group is neglected in national and global policies that aim to improve health and wellbeing.”
Drivers for food choices
The first paper in the series was led by Professor Shane Norris with Professor Caroline Fall and Dr Kate Ward. It examines the context for the current generation of teenagers during their “nutrition-sensitive phase for growth”.
The second paper provides large analysis of pooled qualitative data on the drivers of young people’s food choices. The data is drawn from studies in eight settings around the world.
The paper reflects on how teenagers have a lot to say about why they eat what they eat, and therefore must be active partners in shaping local and global actions that support healthy eating patterns.
The findings included contributions from Southampton’s Drs Polly Hardy-Johnson, Sofia Strommer and Susie Weller with Professor Barker.