Adolescent Body Research Articles

Некоторые факторы, оказывающие влияние на заболеваемость ОРВИ детей (10–18 лет), проживающих на территории Мурманской области

To identify factors influencing the incidence children of respiratory diseases, a study was conducted on the health of schoolchildren aged 10–18 years living in the Murmansk region. A trend has been established that children who take any vitamin and mineral supplements in their food are recover faster. This suggests that the available food for schoolchildren is unbalanced in its main components and the inclusion of local products in a child’s diet is not enough to fully replenish all the necessary nutrients in the growing body of adolescents. The use of various vitamin and mineral supplements in food, including vitamin D3 and fish oil, allows you to at least partially compensate for the lack of essential elements.

Associations between Adolescent Preoperative Mental Health, Psychosocial Factors, and Body Mass Index.

There is little research on adolescent bariatric surgery and mental health (depression, anxiety, etc.) with racial/ethnic minority adolescents. The objective of this study is to determine associations between adolescents' preoperative reports of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem and caregiver's' reports of the caregiver-adolescent relationship and interpersonal relationships with adolescents' BMI and differences based on race/ethnicity. Adolescents (ages 12-21) who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery from June 2020 to November 2022 had their responses to specific items on the BASC-3 (anxiety, depression, and self-esteem) analyzed for associations with their body mass index (BMI) and with caregiver responses to the BASC-3 for adolescents' interpersonal skills and relationship with caregiver. Demographic differences on the BASC-3 were assessed. Pearson's correlations, independent t-tests, and ANOVA were used. Caregivers who had higher t-scores for relationship with their adolescents had adolescents who had lower depression t-scores, lower anxiety t-scores, and higher self-esteem t-scores. Parents who had higher t-scores for their adolescents' interpersonal relations had adolescents who had lower depression t-scores, lower anxiety t-scores, and higher self-esteem t-scores. White adolescents had higher depression t-scores than Black and Hispanic adolescents. Black and Hispanic adolescents had higher self-esteem t-scores compared to White adolescents. Some of the findings within the study regarding adolescents' race and ethnicity and mental health are not consistent with prior research, affirming the need for additional research of these sub-populations.

Analysis of Body Composition and Physical Fitness Variables of Korean Middle School Students: National Fitness Award (2018-2022)

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend of yearly changes in adolescent body composition and health-related physical fitness variables using National Fitness Award.METHODS We sampled 209.924 adolescents (age: 13.99 ± 0.85) and investigated their body composition, muscle strength, and cardiopulmonary function. Subgroups by year (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) were compared using one-way analysis of variance and frequency analysis tests.RESULTS In the subgroup classified by year, there were significant differences between groups in height, BMI, and gender, and there were significant differences between groups in relative grip strength, 20m PACER, and maximal oxygen consumption.CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, this study presents changes in body composition, muscle strength, and cardiopulmonary function by year as basic data to help understand adolescents' health conditions, and it is expected to provide data that can have a positive impact for future use as clinical and public health information.

Obesity Incidence with Body Image in Female Adolencence

Adolescence is when individuals explore their identities and increase their self-understanding regarding self-image. Body image increases with the individual's satisfaction, who can accept the state of the adolescent's body. One thing that can affect adolescents' body image is obesity. This study aims to determine the relationship between obesity and body image in young women at Health Vocational School, Tangerang City. The research design used is a descriptive correlation with a cross-sectional approach—data collection using the BSQ-34 questionnaire and obesity observation sheet. A total sampling technique was used to take a sample of 35 respondents. The analysis technique used in this study is Chi-Square. This study shows a relationship between obesity and body image among young women in Health Vocational School, Tangerang City. This study shows that obesity is related to body image in young women. Adolescents are expected to behave positively towards their bodies not to cause a negative body image.

Longitudinal associations between adolescent skin color satisfaction and adult health outcomes in Black women.

Although emerging studies examine the inverse relationship between body satisfaction and disordered eating for Black women, it has not been established how racially salient aspects of body satisfaction may have implications for eating behaviors and longitudinal health outcomes. In a longitudinal sample of 455 Black women, we examined whether skin color satisfaction across ages 10-15 was directly related to adult health outcomes at age 40 (e.g., disordered eating, self-esteem, self-reported health, depressive symptoms, and cardiovascular risk). We also investigated the indirect impact of skin color satisfaction on adult health, mediated by body satisfaction, and binge eating. No significant direct or indirect effects of adolescent skin color satisfaction were observed for depressive symptoms or cardiovascular health outcomes. At ages 10 and 12, skin color satisfaction had negative and positive direct effects, respectively, on self-esteem. At age 15, greater skin color satisfaction was directly associated with greater self-reported health. Post hoc analyses revealed that when additionally accounting for adolescent body satisfaction, greater skin color satisfaction was indirectly associated with greater self-esteem and self-reported health, alongside lower cardiovascular risk. Although previous research suggests that in adolescence, Black girls' skin color satisfaction affects both body satisfaction and disordered eating behaviors, this association does not hold into midlife. Rather, post hoc analyses suggest that the lasting effects of adolescent skin color satisfaction are mediated by the longitudinal stability of body satisfaction, which in turn, is associated with adult health outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Features of neurovegetative and humoral regulation of cognitive activity in adolescents when using electronic devices

Background. Studying the functional state of the body of adolescents when they preform cognitive activity using electronic devices is of great importance due to the introduction of information and computer technologies into the educational process. Identifying the characteristics of the reactivity of students’ bodies when performing cognitive activities in a digital environment will contribute to both optimization of learning and health protection.The aim. To study the autonomic regulation of heart rate, electrodermal activity, cerebral circulation and the level of cortisol in saliva when adolescents performed a cognitive test on electronic devices (tablet, laptop) and on paper.Materials and methods. Using analysis of heart rate variability, electrodermal activity, rheoencephalography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent determination of cortisol in saliva, цe examined 48 adolescents while performing a cognitive activity on electronic devices.Results. When adolescents perform cognitive activity using electronic devices, we can register changes in heart rate variability, electrodermal activity and cerebral circulation. Cognitive activity in a digital environment causes an increase in sympathetic effect ontheheart rate with adecrease inparasympathetic activity, anincrease inthe integrative indicator ofgalvanic skin response, invascular tone and adecrease in the cerebral blood flow intensity. One in four adolescents experiences anticipatory stimulation of the endocrine system before taking a cognitive test. Correlation analysis revealed alarge number of correlations between the studied indicators both in the initial state and during cognitive activity.Conclusion. A large number of correlations, both in the initial state and during the cognitive test, between heart rate variability and cortisol concentration, cerebral circulation parameters indicate the preservation of a rigid system of neurovegetative and humoral regulation of heart rate when using electronic devices compared to paper-based media.

The Effect of School-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Body Mass Index Among ‎Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Randomised Trials

Obesity has become a global health concern among the child and adolescent populations. We performed a systematic review for an indirect comparison of the effectiveness of aerobic exercise (AE) school-based physical activity (SBPA) interventions versus resistance training (RT) SBPA interventions in changing adolescent body mass index (BMI). OVID Medline, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched. All English-language, peer-reviewed randomized control trials (RCTs) that examined SBPA inter- ventions and objectively measured BMI as an outcome in adolescents aged 10-18 were eligible for inclusion. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. Of the 355 records identified, 10 met the eligibility criteria and 5 were included in the best evidence synthesis (BES). Five studies had a high risk of bias, two had some concerns and three had a low risk of bias. In the BES, this study found that both types of interventions reported either decreases or maintenance in BMI. However, due to the limited number of included studies, this review was unable to conduct an indirect comparison of the effects of AE and RT on changes in BMI. This finding could be beneficial in the planning of strategies to address overweight and obesity in adolescents. Further RCTs with a low risk of bias are required to compare the effects of AE and RT SBPA on BMI in adolescents.

The Decline in the Age of Onset of Puberty – A Source of Concern

Abstract: Puberty refers to physical transitions that occur in the body of adolescents, taking them from a stage of sexual immaturity to sexual maturity. Nowadays, it is being observed that more and more girls are attaining menarche at an age less than ten years, so the age of onset of Puberty being somewhere around 7.5 to 8 years. The reasons and implications are manifold. Early age of onset of puberty is a risk factor for ovarian and breast malignancies and also for a number of chronic diseases. The present article expresses author’s opinion regarding the issue on the basis of recent literature and tries to highlight the reasons responsible for this, especially in the current scenario and discusses modifiable factors so that the process can be halted.

Female adolescents' early life stress and body mass index: Differential effects of anger and anxiety in response to rejection.

Early life stress is linked to childhood obesity. As children enter adolescence, early life stress may be associated with increased rejection sensitivity, resulting in activation of behavioral and physiological changes that contribute to higher body mass index (BMI). Understanding the potential influence of rejection sensitivity on the association between early life stress and BMI is important to examine in female adolescents. For this secondary data analysis, we hypothesized that female adolescents with greater early life stress and greater rejection sensitivity would exhibit higher BMI-for-age 12 months later. Seventy-eight adolescents (Mage = 13.1 years; 100% female sex; MBMI = 23.2 kg/m2) in the United States completed study procedures from 2012 to 2016. Among these procedures, the Psychosocial Schedule was used to assess cumulative early life stress and the Children's Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire was used to assess anger and anxiety in response to rejection. Twelve months later, height and weight were measured to derive BMI-for-age. Higher early life stress was associated with higher BMI-for-age among female adolescents with low rejection-provoked anger (1 SD below the mean). However, this association was not observed among female adolescents with high rejection-provoked anger (1 SD above the mean). Finally, there was no significant interaction between early life stress and rejection-provoked anxiety in predicting BMI-for-age. Experiencing early life stress may interact with rejection-provoked anger, but not anxiety, to predict BMI-for-age. Findings inform a developmental perspective of how rejection sensitivity may influence the association between early life stress and early cardiometabolic risk.

Estimating effects of longitudinal and cumulative exposure to PFAS mixtures on early adolescent body composition.

Few methods have been used to characterize repeatedly measured biomarkers of chemical mixtures. We applied latent profile analysis (LPA) to serum concentrations of 4 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measured at 4 time points from gestation to age 12years. We evaluated the relationships between profiles and z scores of height, body mass index, fat mass index, and lean body mass index at age 12years (n=218). We compared LPA findings with an alternative approach for cumulative PFAS mixtures using g-computation to estimate the effect of simultaneously increasing the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for all PFAS. We identified 2 profiles: a higher PFAS profile (35% of sample) and a lower PFAS profile (relative to each other), based on their average PFAS concentrations at all time points. The higher PFAS profile had generally lower z scores for all outcomes, with somewhat larger effects for males, though all 95% CIs crossed the null. For example, the higher PFAS profile was associated with a 0.50-unit lower (β = -0.50; 95% CI, -1.07 to 0.08) BMI z score among males but not among females (β = 0.04; 95% CI, -0.45 to 0.54). We observed similar patterns with AUCs. We found that a higher childhood PFAS profile and higher cumulative PFAS mixtures may be associated with altered growth in early adolescence. This article is part of a Special Collection on Environmental Epidemiology.

LOVE YOUR BODY! THE ROLE OF BODY SATISFACTION IN YOUTH LIFE SATISFACTION

This study aims to determine the relationship between body satisfaction and youth life satisfaction. Sampling was carried out using a non-probability sampling technique in Jabodetabek on 266 adolescents, with an age range of 13-21 years. The measuring instruments in this study are the Adolescent Body Image Satisfaction Scale (ABISS) by Leone, Mullin, Maurer-Starks, & Rovito (2014) to measure the level of body satisfaction and The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) scale compiled by Diener, Emmons , Larsen, and Griffin to measure the level of life satisfaction. Analysis of Pearson Correlation showed that there is a significant negative relationship between body satisfaction and life satisfaction in adolescents, both in the dimensions of body competence (r=-0.420), body innadequate (-0.319) and (-0.169), which means the more individuals are dissatisfied with the body, the more dissatisfied he is with his life. The results of this study are expected to be one of the considerations for educational institutions or the community, especially adolescents so that they can receive, maintain and feel satisfied with their bodies so that they can increase satisfaction with their lives, where life satisfaction is very important in the process of optimizing adolescent development.

Variation in ultra-processed food consumption from 6 to 15 years, body weight and body composition at 15 years of age at The Pelotas 2004 Birth Cohort.

The association of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption with obesity and adipose tissue in children/adolescents remains poorly understood. To assess the association of UPF consumption with excessive weight (EW-defined as BMI-for-age ≥+1 z-score) and body composition at 15 years. In a birth cohort, daily UPF consumption was estimated by Food Frequency Questionnaires at 6 and 15 years. Those in the higher tercile of UPF consumption at both follow-ups were the 'always-high consumers'. Air-displacement plethysmography provided fat mass (FM-kg), fat-free mass (FFM-kg), %FM, %FFM, FM index (FMI-kg/m2 ) and FFM index (FFMI-kg/m2 ). Logistic regression and linear regression were used to estimate, respectively, odds ratios and beta coefficients. Amongst 1584 participants, almost one in every seven were always-high consumers. In crude analyses, there was no association between variation in UPF consumption and EW, and body fat parameters were lower in the always-high consumer group than amongst the always-low consumers, in both sexes. With adjustment for confounders, the odds ratio for EW was higher in the always-high consumer than amongst the always-low consumer group, and the direction of the associations with FM parameters was reversed: males from the always-high consumer group presented almost twice as high FM (10.5 vs. 18.6 kg; p < 0.001) and twice as high FMI (3.4 vs. 6.3 kg/m2 ; p < 0.001) than the always-low consumer group, and females from the always-high consumer group presented on average 32% more FM and FMI than the always-low consumer group. In crude and adjusted analyses there was a strong association between high UPF consumption from childhood to adolescence, EW and higher body fat parameters at 15 years, but its deleterious association with body adiposity was only uncovered after adjusting for confounders.

The Meaning and Role of the Body in Adolescents with Eating Disorders: a Description of the Meaning of the Symptom

The article describes the understanding of the function of the symptom of eating disorders in adolescents from the perspective of positive psychotherapy. The work of understanding the symptom is based on the work with 15-year-old adolescents in the Khmelnytsky Regional Medical Center for Mental Health. It is observed that the symptom is based on the need to control one’s own emotions and experiences and such control is exercised through the body, namely, through eating behavior. It is described that when dealing with this symptom at the behavioral level, it is important to develop coping mechanisms using the balance model.Our findings on the eating disorder symptom indicate that it is important in the psychotherapeutic process to understand the symptom and how it plays a role in the life of the individual. This understanding contributes to a deeper vision of the client and his or her problem, and also influences psychotherapeutic interventions. At the same time, understanding the symptom is important for the client’s internal work.

Psychomotor reaction in adolescents with different levels of physical development

The work is aimed at studing dynamics of the latent time of motor reaction in conditions of noise interference in adolescents. The result of research of latent time of impellent reaction and force of nervous processes (under the tepping-test) at teenagers of 13-15 years with a certain level of physical development demonstrated that children with a high physical development level have low functional reserves brain programming systems. The influence of the processes underlying acceleration in terms of adaptive reactions of teenagers is showed by this way. The study of the motor reaction to a light stimulus was carried out using the latent time of simple motor reaction computer program developed in the laboratory. It was clear that the processes of acceleration affected the morph functional organization of regulatory brain systems, reducing their level of adaptability and operational reliability. Low indicators of adolescents’ strength of nervous processes, which were obtained during tapping testing, are the general modern trend towards a decrease in the level of their health. The data obtained can be used in the development of medical and pedagogical methods for correcting the functional state of the body of adolescents at the prenosological stage.

Regular meta-analysis of the impact of sports activities intervention on some items of the national student physical health standards for adolescents.

By using meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of exercise on adolescent body mass index (BMI), standing long jump, sit ups, lung capacity, sitting forward bending, 50 m running, and 800 m running, a large amount of literature will be reviewed to reveal the key role of exercise in the healthy development of adolescents. This study aims to promote the development of adolescent physical health and solve the common problem of declining physical fitness, comprehensively improve the physical fitness of adolescents, and provide decision-making support for policymakers. The research results will provide methodological references for precise and effective intervention practices, further improve adolescent physical fitness, and lay a solid physiological foundation for their comprehensive development. A literature search was conducted on China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and PubMed, collecting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of physical activity on adolescent physical fitness according to predefined criteria. The quality of these studies was assessed, and their outcome data were analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software. The analysis encompassed 13 articles with a total of 4,633 participants, examining measures such as mean difference (MD) and heterogeneity, followed by subgroup analyses. The meta-analysis revealed that physical activity had a moderate to high effect on adolescent performance in sit-ups (MD = 4.91, 95% CI = 3.41-6.41), vital capacity (MD = 120.66, 95% CI = 48.67-194.46), sit-and-reach test (MD = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.09-1.56), 50-meter dash (MD = -1.05, 95% CI = -1.48 to -0.62), and 800-meter run (MD = -18.48, 95% CI = -24.98 to -11.97). Conversely, its influence on BMI (MD = -0.31, 95% CI = -1.87 to 1.24) and standing long jump (MD = 0.1, 95% CI = 0.05-0.15) was relatively low. Engaging in physical activities significantly improves adolescent physical fitness. The most effective regimen involves a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercises, with each session lasting 30 min, performed three times per week for at least 2 months. The extent of improvement in various fitness indicators, reflecting different aspects of physical fitness, is influenced by factors such as the nature of the physical activity, intervention duration, exercise frequency, and age. PROSPERO, identifier CRD42024568197.

Body weight modification experience among adolescents from Saudi Arabia.

Childhood malnutrition is a public health issue in developing countries, leading to a double burden of malnutrition, which is associated with both overweight and underweight. To assess body weight satisfaction and perception as well as body weight modification experiences, among adolescents from Saudi Arabia. This study utilized a cross-sectional design targeting adolescents who attempted to modify their body weight. A questionnaire was constructed to measure their demographics, body weight satisfaction and perception, and experience concerning their weight modification attempts. The chi-square test was used to assess the association between the ability to modify weight and maintain the modification according to the ability to set an appropriate weight target based on the age and height of the adolescents, method of weight modification, and receipt of support to modify weight. A total of 285 adolescents were recruited. More than half of the sample were female (58%); most respondents were secondary school students (73%). Nearly 45% had abnormal body weight where 12.6% were underweight, and 32.3% were overweight or obese. Most of the recruited sample were unsatisfied with their body weight (63%). Although 52% of the adolescents had a normal BMI, only 35% perceived their body weight as normal. Nearly 75% of the sample were able to modify their body weight. However, a smaller proportion were able to maintain the modification they achieved. The most frequently selected body weight modification method was dieting (83%), followed by exercise (69%). Only 40 adolescents (14%) reported consulting a physician regarding their body weight modification attempts. The most frequently reported source of support for weight modification was the family (51%), while the lowest frequency of support was reported concerning schools' contribution (29%). Upon assessing factors associated with the ability to modify weight or maintain the modification, a higher frequency of adolescents who indicated they employed dieting behavior were able to maintain the modification compared to other weight modification practices (p < 0.05). The findings highlight the importance of collaboration between families, schools, and healthcare services to improve adolescent body image and ensure the adoption of healthy body weight modification practices among adolescents.

Flexible bronchoscopy for removal of airway foreign bodies: A single center experience

Background: Airway foreign bodies are rare in occurrence and challenging to manage. The presentation varies depending upon the size, site, and nature of the aspirated material. Although rigid bronchoscopy is the preferred choice in children; distally lodged foreign bodies in adults have high success rate of extraction with flexible bronchoscope. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of flexible bronchoscopy for removal of airway foreign bodies in adolescents and adults. Methods: In a retrospective study conducted between January 2018 to March 2024 at National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir hospital; medical records of patients undergoing bronchoscopy for airway foreign bodies were extracted. Methods and Material: Demographic parameters, type and location of foreign body, extraction procedure, accessory equipment used, and the success rates were analyzed. Complications during and after the procedure were also recorded. Results: During the study period, a total of 3143 bronchoscopies were performed, of which 18 (0.57%) were done for foreign body extraction. Patients were aged between 12 to 89 years; cough was the commonest symptom and lobar collapse was the commonest radiological sign. Organic foreign bodies accounted for 61% cases and inorganic 39%. Right lower lobe was the commonest site. Successful flexible bronchoscopy assisted extraction was achieved in 89%. Of the 18 patients, 12 (67%) were successfully removed with rat toothed forceps and five (28%) with basket device. No major complications were noted. Conclusions: Flexible bronchoscopy has a high success rate in management of airway foreign bodies and should always be considered as first line in adults.

Causal factors in childhood and adolescence leading to anabolic-androgenic steroid use: A machine learning approach

BackgroundPrior research has demonstrated associations between anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and features from several childhood and adolescent psychosocial domains including body image concerns, antisocial traits, and low levels of parental care. However, prior approaches have been limited by their focus on individual features and lack of consideration of the relevant causal structure. MethodsWe re-analyzed data from a previous cross-sectional cohort study of 232 male weightlifters aged 18–40, of whom 101 had used AAS. These men completed retrospective measures of features from their childhood and early adolescence, including body image concerns, eating disorder psychopathology, antisocial traits, substance use, and family relationships. Using an approach informed by principles of causal inference, we applied four machine-learning methods – lasso regression, elastic net regression, random forests, and gradient boosting – to predict AAS use. ResultsThe four methods yielded similar receiver operating curves, mean area under the curve (range 0.66 to 0.72), and sets of highly important features. Features related to adolescent body image concerns (especially muscle dysmorphia symptoms) were the strongest predictors. Other important features were adolescent rebellious behaviors; adolescent feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of interoceptive awareness; and low levels of paternal care. ConclusionsApplying machine learning within a causally informed approach to re-analyze data from a prior study of weightlifters, we identified six factors (most prominently those related to adolescent body image concerns) as proposed causal factors for the development of AAS use. Compared with the prior analyses, this approach achieved greater methodologic rigor and yielded stronger and broader findings.

Особливості фізичного і статевого розвитку та стан кісткової тканини у дівчат підліткового віку

In the period of puberty the reproductive system formation takes place, the physical development of adolescents body, the mineralization of bone tissue, and the accumulation of bone mass come to an end. Purpose - to assess the physical, sexual development and state of the bone tissue in adolescent girls with violation of the reproductive system formation. Materials and methods. A clinical examination of 87 girls of pubertal age was carried out, the study group included 47 girls with violation of the reproductive system formation. The comparison group consisted of 40 girls without such violation. Anthropometry was used to assess physical and sexual development, сonstitutional type, body mass index, sexual development, and mineral density of bone tissue were determined. Results. Secondary sexual characteristics were found to appear later and have a lower degree of expression in girls of the study group compared to the comparison group (10.2±1.0 points vs. 12.3±1.4 points, p&lt;0.05). Asthenic type of body structure was found 4 times more often, normosthenic type - 2.2 times less often than in girls of the comparison group (р&lt;0.01). Severe disorders of menstrual function occurred 2 times more often in girls with an asthenic body structure compared to girls with a normosthenic body structure. Deficit body weight in girls of the study group was determined 4.2 times more often in girls of the study group than in the comparison group (p&lt;0.01). In 80.8% of adolescent girls with a violation of the reproductive system formation, the mineral density of bone tissue was significantly lower than in the comparison group. In 55.3% of subjects of the main group, osteopenia of various degrees of severity was determined. Conclusions. Adolescent girls with disorders of the reproductive system formation were found a delay in physical development and puberty. The mineral density of bone tissue was significantly lower than in adolescents with a physiological puberty. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the Local ethics committees of the institutions mentioned in the paper. An informed parental consent was obtained for the study in children. No conflict of interests was declared by the author.

Development of implicit and explicit attentional modulation of the processing of social cues conveyed by faces and bodies in children and adolescents.

Emotions and sex of other people shape the way we interact in social environments. The influence of these dimensions on cognitive processing is recognized as a highly conditional phenomenon. While much of researches on the topic focused on adults, less evidence is available for the pediatric population. This study aimed at examining the development of the modulation of attention control on emotion and sex processing using facial and body expressions in children and adolescents (8–16 years old). In Experiment 1a, participants performed a Flanker task (probing space-based attention) in which they had to indicate either the emotion (happy/fearful) or the sex of the target stimulus while ignoring the distracting stimuli at the side. We found evidence for intrusion of the sex, but not emotion, of the stimuli during both sex and emotion recognition tasks, thus both at an explicit (i.e., task relevant) and implicit (i.e., task irrelevant) level. A control experiment consisting of an emotional Flanker task confirmed that, in contrast with previous findings in adults, emotion did not modulate attention control in children and adolescents even when task relevant (Experiment 1b). In Experiment 2 participants performed a same-or-different judgment task (probing feature-based attention) in which they indicated whether the central stimulus matched the lateral ones for emotion or sex. Results showed that emotional features exerted an implicit influence during sex judgements; likewise, sex features intruded on the processing of both faces and bodies during emotion judgments. Finally, Experiment 3 explored the development of the explicit attention modulation exerted by the sex dimension on the processing of faces and bodies. To this aim, participants performed a Flanker task in which they were asked to recognize the sex of faces and bodies. The results indicated that, while younger participants showed a task-relevant influence of sexual features when processing faces, older participants showed such influence when processing bodies. These findings point to a greater attentional modulation exerted by sex, as compared to emotion, during social processing in children and adolescents and suggest a developmental trend of the saliency of facial and bodily cues for the perception of others’ sex.