Teenage ailments linked to poor diets and bad habits
While Timothy To was navigating the pressures of teenage life in high school, he had an added burden at home.
With the adults in his life working, the then 13-year-old would care for his siblings and family members with intellectual disabilities when he returned from school.
"It was very emotionally draining. It takes up a large portion of your personal time, and it contributes to social isolation," Mr To told AAP.
Over time, the stress exacerbated his mental health issues.
"The low mood was always there, but it became very intense when I was 15 to 16 and that was the first symptoms of my mental limit, and the burnout started setting in from my over-achieving academically."
This strain on his immune system culminated in Mr To experiencing the chronic skin condition eczema when he was 20 years old.
Almost one in two Australian teens live with chronic diseases or developmental conditions including ADHD or autism, and this has been linked to mental health as well as ultra-processed foods, sugary drinks, screen time, smoking and alcohol in the first study of its kind in Australia.
A survey of more than 5000 Australian teens published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health found 45.6 per cent had some form of non-communicable disease or mental condition.
While the study could not say unhealthy lifestyles caused these conditions, lead author Bridie Osman said there was a clear link which demonstrates the magnitude of the public health issue.
"Modern lifestyles are quite dire for adolescents. (The system) really is stacked against them," she told AAP.
The most common chronic diseases in teens were hay fever at 23 per cent, and 10 per cent said they had eczema, while nine per cent said they had ADHD which was the most common developmental condition.
Being female, consuming more ultra-processed foods, sugary drinks and alcohol, having more screen time or having a mental health condition were associated with higher rates of chronic disease or developmental conditions.
But male teens with a mental health condition were at a disproportionate risk of these health issues compared with their females counterparts.
"Poor mental health can inhibit an inflammatory response ... This can contribute to the onset of disease," the study said.
Mr To has been seeing psychologists but having used all his subsidised sessions, finding another is emotionally draining and turns him off continuing to reach out.
As teen health worsens, the impact will flow onto the entire population, Dr Osman said.
"The system makes it very hard to live a healthy lifestyle," she said.
More funding for health literacy, access to nutritious foods and supporting parents to improve their parenting styles will benefit teenagers' immune health.
Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin said the next federal government must do more to help all Australians, particularly teenagers, choose the right foods to set them up with good physical and mental health.
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