Lancet study flags adolescent health challenges for 2030: Why diet, anaemia and mental health must be in focus
The analysis used data from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study. New projections suggest that, without political will, policy initiatives and financial investments, adolescents will be exposed to health risks in countries which are already battling multiple disease burdens.
COMMON ADOLESCENT HEALTH ISSUES
The Lancet Commission estimates that nearly one-third of adolescent girls will be anaemic globally by 2030 while 464 million adolescents (boys and girls) will be overweight or obese (143 million more than in 2015). Similarly, adolescent mental health has seen a significant decline over the past three decades in countries with available data, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
POOR NUTRITION, ANAEMIA KEY CHALLENGES IN INDIA
The report uses a measure called Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which are the years of healthy life lost due to sickness, disability or premature death. The DALYs attributable to communicable, maternal and nutritional conditions among girls in India is 14,155 per 100,000 population, while it is 12,310/per lakh in boys which remains above the target of <2,500 per 100,000. The DALYs due to nutritional deficiencies in girls in the age group of 10-24 is 1,358 out of every 100,000 while in boys it is 370.9 per lakh. Altogether 52 per cent girls and 20.8 per cent boys in this age group were anaemic when the target should be less than 10 per cent.
Also, 43 per cent of girls in the 15-24 age group are among those who are 'Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET),' posing serious challenges in health and youth engagement.
In India, the rate of DALYs attributable to mental health and self-harm in the girls in the 10-24 age group was 2.738 per lakh.
SOME RIGHT POLICY MOVES
Commission co-chair Professor Sarah Baird, George Washington University (USA), said that India has made important policy progress by overturning penal codes for consensual same sex relationships and adding adolescent health as a separate topic in the medical education curriculum. 'India has also been identified as an exemplar country for handling teenage pregnancies,' she says.
IS CLIMATE CHANGE A NEW THREAT?
The Commission identified several significant new threats to adolescent health like climate change and the digital revolution. 'Today's adolescents are the first generation who will live their entire life with the average annual global temperature that has consistently been 0.5 degree centigrade higher than pre-industrial levels. And by 2100, 1.9 billion adolescents will live in a world that is expected to warm around 2.8 degrees above pre-industrial times, bringing catastrophic risks for their health such as heat-related illnesses, reduction in food and water quality and availability, and a rise in mental health conditions related to climate events,' the report said.
Youth Commissioner Surabhi Dogra says the report factors in air pollution as a non-communicable disease risk factor. She also made a strong case for investing in the future of teen health. 'Adolescent workers in informal sectors such as agriculture continue to face exploitation and occupational health dangers. We need to equip them with skills and opportunities to obtain jobs in the green and blue economies,' she adds.
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