Adolescent Nutrition Research Articles

The relationship between the nutritional literacy level and heart health attitudes of adolescents

PurposeIt was aimed to evaluate the effect of adolescents' nutritional literacy level on their heart health attitudes. MethodsThis is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Data from 416 adolescents were obtained in the study. The Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS) and the Cardiovascular Health Behavior Scale for Children (CHBSC) were completed by participants. The adolescents' demographic information, lifestyle, and diet habits were collected. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression. ResultsThe participants' mean scores of the ANLS and the CHBSC were as 68.30 ± 8.68 and 67.55 ± 8.45, respectively. It was determined that 88.7% of the adolescents had moderate attitudes towards heart health and that there was a weak and negative correlation between the ANLS and CHBSC scores (r = −0,207; p < 0.001). It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in ANLS and CHBSC scores in terms of gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), fast food consumption frequency, what they primarily pay attention to in food, weekly exercise frequency, the amount of daily water consumption, general health status and reading the label of packaged products (p < 0.05). It was determined that exercising, general state of health, BMI, consumption of fast food, and reading the label of packaged products were key predictors of CHBSC scores. Additionally, exercising, consumption of fast food, and reading the label of packaged products were identified as key predictors of ANLS scores. ConclusionsOur analysis suggests that higher levels of nutritional literacy are related to more positive attitudes towards heart health in adolescents. Additionally, our analysis identifies key predictors of both nutrition literacy and heart health behaviors. Practice implicationsSchool health nurses should consider the variables influencing these parameters to improve attitudes towards nutritional literacy and heart health in adolescents.

Relative validity of the Planetary Health Diet Index by comparison with usual nutrient intakes, plasma food consumption biomarkers, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet among European adolescents: the HELENA study.

The EAT-Lancet Commission proposed an evidence-based global reference diet to improve human health within planetary boundaries. Recently, the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) was developed based on the EAT-Lancet recommendations and validated among Brazilian adults. However, the relative validity of the PHDI in adolescents has yet to be assessed. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the relative validity of the PHDI in European adolescents. We used cross-sectional data from 1804 adolescents (12.5-17.5years) enrolled in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study. The PHDI (0-150 points) was calculated based on dietary intake data from two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. Associations between the PHDI and usual nutrient intakes, plasma food consumption biomarkers, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were evaluated using multivariable-adjusted mixed-effects linear regression models. Higher PHDI score was associated with greater intakes of nutrients predominantly from plant-source foods, such as vegetable protein, vitamin E, and folate and with lower intake of nutrients predominately from animal-source foods, such as total and saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein. Furthermore, a higher PHDI score was also positively associated with plasma β-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, folate, and ferritin concentrations, while negatively associated with trans-fatty acids concentration. Moreover, higher PHDI was related to a greater adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern. The PHDI showed good relative validity among adolescents in the HELENA study. Hence, future research should assess adherence to the PHDI and long-term health outcomes.

The influence of adolescents' nutrition knowledge and school food environment on adolescents' dietary behaviors in urban Ethiopia: A qualitative study.

Adolescence is a critical period of physical, cognitive, and social development that needs to be supported with healthy diets. Dietary behaviours of adolescents can be shaped by their nutrition-literacy and their interaction with parents and peers as well as their school food environment. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess factors that influence dietary behaviours of adolescents in urban Ethiopia. Sex-disaggregated, focused group discussions (n = 70) were conducted in 36 private and government schools (n = 12/city) among adolescents (n = 432) 15-19 years of age in Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, and Dire Dawa. Photovoice was applied in a subgroup of participants (n = 216) to gain further insights into adolescents' perception of their school food environment. Key informant interviews were conducted among school principals (n = 36). Adolescents had a relatively good nutrition knowledge and recognised the importance of diverse diets, but misperceptions also existed. They identified fruit and vegetables as healthy foods, but their consumption was deterred by food safety concerns. The adolescents identified foods high in salt, fat, and sugar, including processed/packaged foods as unhealthy, but still consumed them frequently due to their taste, affordability, availability and accessibility in and around schools. Both undernutrition and overweight/obesity were linked to social exclusion and bullying in school. Effective behavioural change communication is required to address common misperceptions. School nutrition programs should integrate water, sanitation and hygiene programs to ensure food safety. Regulations promoting healthy eating while discouraging unhealthy dietary behaviours are vital. Interventions to make nutrient-dense and healthy foods available, accessible, and affordable are urgently needed to improve the nutrition and health outcome of adolescents.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Chatbots for Nutrition and Physical Activity Health Promotion Among Adolescents: Systematic Scoping Review With Adolescent Consultation.

Reducing lifestyle risk behaviors among adolescents depends on access to age-appropriate health promotion information. Chatbots-computer programs designed to simulate conversations with human users-have the potential to deliver health information to adolescents to improve their lifestyle behaviors and support behavior change, but research on the feasibility and acceptability of chatbots in the adolescent population is unknown. This systematic scoping review aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of chatbots in nutrition and physical activity interventions among adolescents. A secondary aim is to consult adolescents to identify features of chatbots that are acceptable and feasible. We searched 6 electronic databases from March to April 2022 (MEDLINE, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, the Association for Computing Machinery library, and the IT database Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Peer-reviewed studies were included that were conducted in the adolescent population (10-19 years old) without any chronic disease, except obesity or type 2 diabetes, and assessed chatbots used nutrition or physical activity interventions or both that encouraged individuals to meet dietary or physical activity guidelines and support positive behavior change. Studies were screened by 2 independent reviewers, with any queries resolved by a third reviewer. Data were extracted into tables and collated in a narrative summary. Gray literature searches were also undertaken. Results of the scoping review were presented to a diverse youth advisory group (N=16, 13-18 years old) to gain insights into this topic beyond what is published in the literature. The search identified 5558 papers, with 5 (0.1%) studies describing 5 chatbots meeting the inclusion criteria. The 5 chatbots were supported by mobile apps using a combination of the following features: personalized feedback, conversational agents, gamification, and monitoring of behavior change. Of the 5 studies, 2 (40.0%) studies focused on nutrition, 2 (40.0%) studies focused on physical activity, and 1 (20.0%) focused on both nutrition and physical activity. Feasibility and acceptability varied across the 5 studies, with usage rates above 50% in 3 (60.0%) studies. In addition, 3 (60.0%) studies reported health-related outcomes, with only 1 (20.0%) study showing promising effects of the intervention. Adolescents presented novel concerns around the use of chatbots in nutrition and physical activity interventions, including ethical concerns and the use of false or misleading information. Limited research is available on chatbots in adolescent nutrition and physical activity interventions, finding insufficient evidence on the acceptability and feasibility of chatbots in the adolescent population. Similarly, adolescent consultation identified issues in the design features that have not been mentioned in the published literature. Therefore, chatbot codesign with adolescents may help ensure that such technology is feasible and acceptable to an adolescent population.

Status and correlates of food and nutrition literacy among parents-adolescents' dyads: findings from 10 Arab countries.

Food literacy is capturing the attention worldwide and gaining traction in the Arab countries. Strengthening food and nutrition literacy among Arab teenagers are important promising empowering tools which can protect them from malnutrition. This study aims to assess the nutrition literacy status of adolescents with the food literacy of their parents in 10 Arab countries. This cross-sectional study involving a convenient sample of 5,401 adolescent-parent dyads (adolescents: mean age ± SD: 15.9 ± 3.0, females: 46.8%; parents: mean age ± SD: 45.0 ± 9.1, mothers: 67.8%) was launched between 29 April and 6 June 2022 in 10 Arab nations. The Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS) and the Short Food Literacy Questionnaire (SFLQ) were used to meet the study aims. More than one-quarter (28%) of adolescents had poor nutrition literacy, with 60% of their parents being food illiterate. The top three countries with nutritionally" less literate" adolescents were Qatar (44%), Lebanon (37.4%), and Saudi Arabia (34.9%). Adolescents' age, gender, education level, primary caregivers, employment status, and the inclusion of nutrition education in the schools' curriculum predicted the nutrition literacy levels of Arab adolescents. Besides, parental weight status, health status, parent's food literacy level, and the number of children per household were significant determinants too. Adolescents studying at a university and having parents with adequate food literacy had the highest odds of being nutritionally literate (OR = 4.5, CI = 1.8-11.5, p = 0.001, OR = 1.8, CI = 1.6-2.1, p < 0.001, respectively). Nutrition literacy inadequacy among Arab adolescents is a prioritized challenge to be tackled.

WHO Global Position Paper and Implementation Strategy on kangaroo mother care call for fundamental reorganisation of maternal–infant care

WHO Global Position Paper and Implementation Strategy on kangaroo mother care call for fundamental reorganisation of maternal–infant care

Penyuluhan Kesehatan Reproduksi Remaja pada Bina Keluarga Remaja sebagai Upaya Pencegahan Stunting

Adolescents are an important target in efforts to prevent stunting. Prevention can be done with reproductive health education. Parental involvement is needed in stunting reduction interventions, not only to improve adolescent nutrition but also to optimize their growth and development environment. Therefore this service aims to increase the role of the family regarding adolescent reproductive health as a form of stunting prevention with the counseling method. Participants in this activity were members of Jurang Village Youth Family Development, namely parents who had teenagers, namely 17 people. This activity had the effect of increasing knowledge from 26.6% of participants who had good knowledge before counseling to 93.3%. It is hoped that this increased knowledge will increase the participation of parents in accompanying their children, especially in preparing balanced nutrition and parents can become the main source of information related to adolescent reproductive health.

The Effectiveness of Providing Snacks to Nutritional Status of Adolescents

One effort to improve nutritional status is consuming nutritious food and nutrition education for children to instill healthy eating habits from an early age. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of providing snacks on the nutritional status and nutritional intake of adolescents. This type of research was a quasi-experimental design with a one-group pre-posttest design without a control group. The research subjects were adolescents aged 11-14 years. Snacks are given for 1 month that meets ± 20% energy and ± 8% protein and ± 15% fat. T-test to analyze the nutritional status of adolescents and nutrient intake before and after giving the distraction food. The results of this study showed that providing distracting food could increase body mass index (p-value=0,000), student weight (p-value=0,000), intake of protein (p-value=0,000), vitamin C (p-value=0,0008), and zinc (p-value=0,0004), but height, carbohydrate intake, and iron intake had no significant effect (p-value&gt;0,05). This study concluded that the provision of snack food effectively increased students' nutritional knowledge, student weight, and intake of protein, vitamin C, and zinc, but height and body mass index, as well as carbohydrates and iron, did not increase significantly. The suggestion from this study is that distraction for adolescents is highly recommended to improve nutritional status so schools should be able to make a policy in providing distracting food as a program to improve adolescent nutrition at school.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of adolescent nutrition in Ethiopia: Transforming adolescent lives through nutrition (TALENT) initiative.

Ethiopia has undergone rapid economic growth over the last two decades that could influence the diets and nutrition of young people. This work systematically reviewed primary studies on adolescent nutrition from Ethiopia, to inform future interventions to guide policies and programs for this age group. A systematic search of electronic databases for published studies on the prevalence of and interventions for adolescent malnutrition in Ethiopia in the English language since the year 2000 was performed using a three-step search strategy. The results were checked for quality using the Joanna Bridge Institute (JBI) checklist, and synthesized and presented as a narrative description. Seventy six articles and two national surveys were reviewed. These documented nutritional status in terms of anthropometry, micronutrient status, dietary diversity, food-insecurity, and eating habits. In the meta-analysis the pooled prevalence of stunting, thinness and overweight/obesity was 22.4% (95% CI: 18.9, 25.9), 17.7% (95% CI: 14.6, 20.8) and 10.6% (7.9, 13.3), respectively. The prevalence of undernutrition ranged from 4% to 54% for stunting and from 5% to 29% for thinness. Overweight/obesity ranged from 1% to 17%. Prevalence of stunting and thinness were higher in boys and rural adolescents, whereas overweight/obesity was higher in girls and urban adolescents. The prevalence of anemia ranged from 9% to 33%. Approximately 40%-52% of adolescents have iodine deficiency and associated risk of goiter. Frequent micronutrient deficiencies are vitamin D (42%), zinc (38%), folate (15%), and vitamin A (6.3%). The adolescent population in Ethiopia is facing multiple micronutrient deficiencies and a double-burden of malnutrition, although undernutrition is predominant. The magnitude of nutritional problems varies by gender and setting. Context-relevant interventions are required to effectively improve the nutrition and health of adolescents in Ethiopia.

Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.

PENCEGAHAN STUNTING MELALUI PENYULUHAN KESEHATAN REPRODUKSI DAN GIZI PADA ANAK REMAJA DI SMKM WELERI

One of the efforts to reduce and prevent stunting is to prepare adolescents with knowledge related to pre-marital preparation with an understanding of reproductive health and healthy nutrition. Nutritional intake in adolescents can also affect fertility, which is the optimal functioning of the reproductive system in both men and women. One of the problems of adolescent reproductive health is having free sex or premarital sex where one of the effects is that it can give birth to children at risk of stunting. The methods used in this community service activity include lectures, question and answer, and interactive discussions. The activity was carried out on December 17 2022 in the multipurpose room/hall of SMK Muhammadiyah 1 Weleri which was attended by a number of representatives from class X to XII with a total of 102 students. Presentation of material was given by Wynne Frederica, S.E,.BBA as the national stunting reduction ambassador regarding the ins and outs of stunting, adolescent reproductive health by Yulia Ardiyanti, and nutrition in adolescents by Triya Ulva Kusuma. This Community Service activity provides youth with an understanding of the importance of maintaining reproductive health and healthy nutritional intake as an effort to minimize underage pregnancies to prevent stunting.

Adolescent health and well-being in sub-Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi-country school-based study.

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescents make up around one-quarter of the population who are growing up in a rapidly urbanizing environment, with its associated risks and benefits, including impacts on health, psychosocial development, nutrition, and education. However, research on adolescents' health and well-being in SSA is limited. The ARISE (African Research, Implementation Science and Education) Network's Adolescent Health and Nutrition Study is an exploratory, school-based study of 4988 urban adolescents from five countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania. A multistage random sampling strategy was used to select the schools and adolescents. Adolescent boys and girls aged 10-15 years were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire by trained enumerators. The questionnaire covered multiple domains including demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, water, sanitation and hygiene practices, antimicrobial resistance, physical activity, dietary behaviours, socioemotional development, educational outcomes, media use, mental health, and menstrual hygiene (only for girls). Additionally, a desk review of health and school meal policies and programs and a qualitative investigation into health and food environments in schools were conducted with students, administrators, and food vendors. In this paper, we describe the study design and questionnaire, present profiles of young adolescents who participated in the study, and share field experiences and lessons learned for future studies. We expect that this study along with other ARISE Network projects will be a first step toward understanding young people's health risks and disease burdens, identifying opportunities for interventions and improving policies, as well as developing potential research capacities on adolescent health and well-being in the SSA region.

School-based health and nutrition interventions addressing double burden of malnutrition and educational outcomes of adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

School system is a promising platform for addressing all forms of malnutrition in adolescents. However, little is known about the impact of integrated school health and nutrition programmes on adolescent nutrition and educational outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This systematic review sought to characterize school-based health and nutrition interventions among adolescents in LMICs and analyze their effects on nutritional status and educational outcomes. Four databases were searched for studies evaluating school-based health and nutrition interventions for adolescents in LMICs, reporting changes in either nutritional status or educational outcomes. A narrative synthesis was used to analyze and describe the evidence. Our review included 68 articles evaluating 58 interventions, of which a third had moderate to strong methodological quality. Forty-two studies evaluated single-domain interventions, while 26 evaluated multi-component interventions. A third of all interventions were based on a theoretical framework. Three-fourths of the interventions were shorter than 11 months, which may make identifying their effect difficult. The results of the effectiveness of these interventions were mixed and inconsistent across intervention types. Sixteen out of 21 studies evaluating multi-component interventions and 12 out of 23 studies evaluating nutrition education reported improving nutritional or diet-related outcomes. One out of six studies reported positive effects on educational outcomes. Our review has identified that research needs include: a greater inclusion of theory-based approaches to guide the implementation of interventions; more studies of integrated interventions that involve parents and the wider community in LMICs; and extension of outcomes beyond nutritional status to include educational outcomes.

Dietary diversity and food variety scores and their association with nutrition and health status of Indian children and adolescents: A multicenter study

BackgroundThe objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate the dietary diversity scores (DDS) and food variety scores (FVS) among Indian children and adolescents aged 9–18 y; 2) compare the DDS and FVS in association with demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics (growth and hemoglobin [Hb] concentrations); and 3) determine DDS and FVS cutoffs to identify dietary micronutrient adequacy. MethodsThis study was performed in a subset (n = 1845) of children and adolescents enrolled in a multicenter study (2016–2017) from urban and rural areas of six Indian states. Height, weight, and Hb were measured, and anthropometric Z-scores were computed. Sociodemographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Dietary data collected by 24-h dietary recall were used to calculate the DDS and FVS. The mean adequacy ratio (MAR) for 10 micronutrients was computed. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to define cutoffs of DDS and FVS. ResultsIn comparison with children and adolescents from rural areas, urban children and adolescents consumed more diverse diets (urban, 4.1 ± 1.1; rural, 3.5 ± 1; P < 0.01) and had a higher mean FVS (urban, 19.9 ± 5.7; rural, 15.9 ± 4.5; P < 0.01). Both the DDS and FVS were significantly correlated with each other (r = 0.860; P < 0.01) and were positively correlated with MAR, growth, and Hb (P < 0.001) and mother's educational level (P < 0.01). The cutoffs of ≥6.5 (DDS) and ≥17 (FVS) were determined to predict micronutrient adequacy. ConclusionsBoth the DDS and FVS can be used interchangeably for assessing growth, health status, and nutritional adequacy. Single cutoff values of the DDS and FVS may aid in prompt identification of children and adolescents with micronutrient inadequacy.

Adolescent nutrition and health: characteristics, risk factors and opportunities of an overlooked life stage.

Adolescence is a pivotal, yet frequently overlooked, period of life, with this age group often no longer receiving the focus, care and protection devoted to other life stages. Nutritional vulnerability increases in adolescence due to heightened nutritional requirements, yet the quality of the diets consumed by this age group often deteriorates significantly. Poor-quality dietary patterns and insufficient nutrient intakes are frequently observed amongst adolescents both in Ireland and globally. This deterioration in diet quality is greatly influenced by individual, social and environmental determinants of behaviour and health. The influences of each of these factors change and increase as adolescents begin to interact independently with the surrounding world. Poor nutrition during adolescence can result in several immediate and long-term health consequences, including micronutrient deficiencies, increased risk of overweight/obesity and increased presentation of cardiometabolic risk factors, all of which have been observed as persistent issues amongst adolescents in Ireland and internationally. Adolescence is a critical period of intervention to protect youth both now and into their future lives. This age group can be particularly receptive to the influence of society and the surrounding environment, posing several avenues in which to influence adolescents towards more health-promoting behaviour. This review aims to summarise the key nutritional and dietary characteristics of adolescents, to provide an overview of the causes and consequences of poor nutrition in adolescence, and to highlight potential opportunities for intervention to protect the health of this age group, with a particular focus on evidence from an Irish context.

The relationship between food cravings and body image with healthy eating index in adolescent girls

ObjectivesAdolescence is one of the most critical phases in any individual's life; adolescent nutrition is closely tied to physical health and development. Research has found that adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to body image concerns and disordered eating behaviors, making it crucial to understand the factors that contribute to these issues. The relationship between food cravings, body image, and healthy eating behaviors is complex and multifaceted and requires careful investigation to identify effective interventions that can promote healthy eating habits in adolescent girls. By exploring the connections between these variables, researchers and health care professionals can develop targeted strategies to reduce food cravings, improve body image, and encourage healthy eating behaviors. Ultimately, this can have important implications for promoting adolescent health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases in later life. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 161 students, ages 15 to 18 y. Data on dietary intake, physical activity, food cravings, and body image were collected using valid standard questionnaires. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman, and linear regression tests in SPSS software. ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 15.94 ± 0.93 y. The participants’ mean height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were 160.78 ± 5.28 cm, 56.45 ± 11.03 kg, and 21.79 kg/m2, respectively. The z score of height for age in the studied samples was –0.22 ± 0.77, and BMI for age was 0.17 ± 1.15 kg/m2. Most participants followed diets that needed to be modified. The healthy eating index (HEI) among them was 53.0.6 ± 9.51. Also, a significant and direct correlation was observed between body image and HEI (P = 0.01) after adjusting for confounding variables. The HEI did not reveal a significant relationship with food cravings even with the modification of confounders (P = 0.18). Moreover, no significant connection was identified between HEI and BMI (P = 0.51). ConclusionsAdolescents with higher body image score had better nutritional quality. Moreover, food cravings and BMI did not have any relationship with HEI score.

Case-Based Learning on Concept Mastery and Students' Thinking Ability in the Field of Nutrition and Health

The nutrition and health lectures show that students can optimally develop higher-order thinking skills. The learning process with the strategies and methods used has yet to be able to maximize the student learning process to be able to develop high-level thinking skills. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of case-based learning on students' mastery of concepts and thinking skills in the field of nutrition and adolescent health. This type of research is quantitative. The research subjects were 6th-semester students who programmed the Nutrition and Health Course with 24 people. The research design is one short case study. Methods of data collection using observation and tests. The research instruments used were tests and questionnaires to determine student responses. The results showed that the mean score of students' mastery of concepts about nutrition and health was 86.13, which was classified as very good, while students' thinking skills were obtained at 86.08, which was classified as very good. The student response to the case-based learning was very good, scoring 87.33. The effectiveness of case-based learning is determined based on the effectiveness index obtained by 100%. It was concluded that concept mastery, thinking skills, and student responses were in the very good category, and the effectiveness of case-based learning in adolescent nutrition health studies was also very good.

Childhood and adolescent nutrition outcomes among girls exposed to gender-based violence: A rapid evidence assessment of quantitative research.

An emerging evidence base has explored the nutritional consequences of gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrated against girls during childhood/adolescence. We conducted a rapid evidence assessment of quantitative studies describing associations between GBV and girls' nutrition. We adapted systematic review methods and included empirical, peer-reviewed studies, published after 2000 (until November, 2022), that were written in Spanish or English and reported quantitative associations between girls' exposure to GBV and nutrition outcomes. A variety of GBV forms were considered: childhood sexual abuse (CSA), child marriage, preferential feeding of boys, sexual IPV and dating violence. Nutrition outcomes included anemia, underweight, overweight, stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, meal frequency, and dietary diversity. In total, 18 studies were included, 13 of which were conducted in high-income countries. Most sources utilized longitudinal or cross-sectional data to quantify associations between CSA, sexual assault, and intimate partner/dating violence and elevated BMI/overweight/obesity/adiposity. Findings suggest that CSA perpetrated by parents/caregivers is associated with elevated BMI/overweight/obesity/adiposity via cortisol reactivity and depression; this relationship may be compounded by additional intimate partner/dating violence in adolescence. The effects of sexual violence on BMI are likely to emerge during a sensitive period of development between late adolescence and young adulthood. Emerging evidence was found regarding the relationship between child marriage (and the related exposure: age at first pregnancy) and undernutrition. The association between sexual abuse and reduced height and leg length was inconclusive. Given that only 18 studies were included, the relationship between girls' direct exposure to GBV and malnutrition has received little empirical attention, especially with respect to studies conducted in LMIC and fragile settings. Most studies focused on CSA and overweight/obesity, where significant associations were found. Future research should test the moderation and mediation effects of intermediary variables (depression, PTSD, cortisol reactivity, impulsivity, emotional eating) and consider sensitive periods of development. Research should also explore the nutritional consequences of child marriage.

COVID-19 and the nutrition of children and adolescents

Introduction During childhood and adolescence, a properly balanced diet is very important, as it has a direct impact on health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, care for the proper diet has become particularly important, especially due to the growing wave of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents, observed especially in adolescence. Aim The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nutrition of children and adolescents. Material and methods The research tool was a questionnaire consisting of questions mainly related to the nutrition of children and adolescents. Adolescents are only included if they and their parents or legal guardians have given their informed consent to participate. If they expressed their willingness to participate in the study, the students received an electronic link to the questionnaire. Results Most of the respondents were girls / women living in the countryside. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating behavior was observed in 61% of respondents. Social isolation in 61% of people did not affect the regularity of eating meals. Most of the respondents (54%) did not observe an increase in their appetite during the lockdowns. The number of people consuming 1 and 5 meals has increased, and the number of people consuming 2 and 3 meals a day has decreased. Conclusions The time of social isolation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the nutrition of children and adolescents. The number of people eating 1 and 5 meals during social isolation has increased, and the number of people eating 2 and 3 meals has decreased. During social isolation, a decrease in the physical activity of children and adolescents was observed.

Counseling on Balanced Nutrition to Youth at SMK Negeri 02 Dompu

Adolescence is an age that is vulnerable to various nutritional problems because, at the age of adolescence, the body experiences an accelerated growth and development process so it requires more energy. In addition, teenagers also like to follow changes in lifestyle and eating habits that are not necessarily healthy, giving rise to various nutritional problems in adolescents. This health education is carried out to encourage students to make positive behavior changes by balanced nutrition in their teens.ActivityCommunity service is carried out inKandai Satu Dompu Village, by conducting health counseling on balanced nutrition for adolescents at SMK Negeri 02 DOMPU. Counseling participants totaled 60 students. Counseling is carried out using the lecture method and audio-visual media to make it interesting and easier for students to understand the material and distribute posters on tips for maintaining a balanced nutritional pattern to increase students' knowledge and understanding of balanced nutrition in adolescents. Counseling received a good response and ran smoothly, the message conveyed was well received by students. This is evidenced by an increase in student's knowledge about balanced nutrition in adolescents, students understand the health problems caused by unbalanced nutrition. The hope is that the interventions that have been given can be applied by students in everyday life so that they can improve the nutritional status of adolescents.