Latest news with #SarahBaird
The Star
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Star
Tipping point: More teens are overweight or obese, have mental health issues
Teens around the world are turning away from alcohol and cigarettes, but are becoming more and more obese and suffering from worsening mental health problems, a new global report says. Photo: TOBIAS HASE/dpa Almost half a billion teenagers around the world will be overweight or obese by 2030, experts predicted as they warned that adolescent health is at a 'tipping point'. In a major new review of the health and well-being of adolescents, experts said some main drivers of ill-health among teenagers have switched from cigarettes and alcohol to weight gain and mental health problems. They warned that mental health among teenagers has seen a 'significant decline' over the past three decades, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. And they projected that 464 million teenagers around the world will be overweight or obese by 2030 – 143 million more than in 2015. But the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing pointed out: 'In terms of health risks, substance use (specifically tobacco and alcohol) has declined in every region.' The experts on the commission said action is needed to tackle threats to adolescents' health and well-being. They warned that progress in teenage health has 'lagged well behind' the improvements that have been made in the health and development of young children – with these benefits being at risk of being 'undermined' with increased ill-health in teenagers. They added that current funding is 'not proportionate with the magnitude of the challenge'. They wrote: 'Adolescence can no longer be ignored ... the time to act is now.' Experts predict that by 2030, half a billion teenagers around the world will be overweight or obese. Photo: Freepik Impact of digital shift The authors of the report also highlighted how the shift towards a 'more digital world' could have a 'profound impact on young people's future health and well-being'. But they warned against 'overly restricting' access, saying there needs to be be a balance, highlighting that the online world offers teenagers new opportunities for social interaction, education, employment and health promotion. Meanwhile, they pointed out that this generation of teenagers is the first to grow up among harsher climate conditions. 'Today's adolescents are the first cohort of humans who will live their entire life experiencing the growing reverberations of climate change,' they wrote. Commission co-chairwoman Professor Sarah Baird, from George Washington University in the United States, said: 'The health and well-being of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping point, with mixed progress observed over the past three decades. 'Whilst tobacco and alcohol use has declined and participation in secondary and tertiary education has increased, overweight and obesity have risen by up to eight-fold in some countries in Africa and Asia over the past three decades, and there is a growing burden of poor adolescent mental health globally. 'Additionally, the challenges faced by the world's adolescents are at risk of being exacerbated by emerging global issues including climate change, world conflicts and a rapid transition to a more digital world. 'Investing in the health and wellbeing of young people is crucial for safeguarding our collective future.' The authors of the commission's report point out that 'investment in adolescent health will become increasingly important throughout the 21st century', adding: 'As populations age and fertility rates fall in even the poorest countries, ensuring the health and well-being of adolescents will be crucial to all countries' health and prosperity.' – dpa
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A quarter of the world's population are adolescents: major report sets out health and wellbeing trends
The Lancet has released its second global commission report on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Adolescents are defined as 10- to 24-year-olds. The report builds on the first one, done in 2016. The latest report presents substantial original research that supports actions it recommends to be taken across sectors as well as at global, regional, country and local level. The co-chairs of the commission, Sarah Baird, Alex Ezeh and Russell Viner, together with the youth commissioners lead, Shakira Choonara, give a guide to the report's findings. The report noted significant improvements in some aspects of adolescent health and wellbeing since the 2016 report. These include reductions in: communicable, maternal and nutritional diseases, particularly among female adolescents the burden of disease from injuries substance use, specifically tobacco and alcohol teenage pregnancy. It also found that there had been an increase in age at first marriage and in education, especially for young women. Despite this progress, adolescent health and wellbeing is said to be at a tipping point. Continued progress is being undermined by rapidly escalating rates of non-communicable diseases and mental disorders, accompanied by threats from compounding and intersecting megatrends. These include climate change and environmental degradation, the growing power of commercial influences on health, rising conflict and displacement, rapid urbanisation, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These megatrends are outpacing responses from national governments and the international community. Born between 2000 and 2014, this is the first cohort of humans who will live their entire life in a time when the average annual global temperature has consistently been 0.5°C or higher above pre-industrial levels. At roughly 2 billion adolescents, they are the largest cohort of adolescents in the history of humanity. And this number will not be surpassed as populations age and fertility rates fall in even the poorest countries. They are the first generation of global digital natives. They live in a world of immense resources and opportunities, with unprecedented connectedness made possible by the rapid expansion of digital technologies. This is true even in the hardest-to-reach places. Growing participation in secondary and tertiary education is equipping adolescents of all genders with new economic opportunities and providing pathways out of poverty. These opportunities, however, are not being realised for most adolescents. Increasing numbers continue to grow up in settings with limited opportunities. In addition, investments in adolescent health and wellbeing continue to lag relative to their population share or their share of the global burden of disease. Investments in adolescents accounted for only 2.4% of the total development assistance for health in 2016-2021. This was despite the fact that adolescents accounted for 25.2% of the global population in that period and 9.1% of the total burden of disease. We use development assistance as a measure because, while governments also invest in adolescents, it's difficult to account for how much this is. For example, when a government supports a health facility, it serves the entire population. Yet, the report provides evidence to show that the return on investments in adolescent health and wellbeing is highly cost-effective and at par with investments in children. The report recognises the special place of Africa in the global future of adolescents. It notes that, by the end of this century, nearly half of all adolescents will live in Africa. Currently, adolescents in Africa experience higher burdens of communicable, maternal and nutritional diseases, at more than double the global average for both male and female adolescents. They also have a higher prevalence of anaemia, adolescent childbearing, early marriage and HIV infection. They are much less likely to complete 12 years of schooling and more likely to not be in education, employment, or training. Female adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest adolescent fertility rate at 99.4 births per 1,000 female adolescents aged 15-19 (the global average is 41.8). They have also experienced the slowest decline between 2016 and 2022. Globally, there was progress in reducing child marriage between 2016 and 2022. But in eight countries in 2022, at least one in three female adolescents aged 15–19 years was married. All but one of these eight countries were in sub-Saharan Africa. Niger (50.2%) and Mali (40.6%) had the highest proportion of married female adolescents. The practice of child marriage is declining in south Asia and becoming more concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. As the report notes: it continues because of cultural norms, fuelled by economic hardships, insurgency, conflict, ambiguous legal provisions, and lack of political will to enforce legal provisions. Beyond adolescent sexual and reproductive health concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, obesity is increasing fastest in the region. This illustrates the vulnerability of adolescents to the power of commercial interests. Since 1990, obesity and overweight has increased by 89% in prevalence among adolescents aged 15–19 years in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the largest regional increase. The absence of data on adolescents is a problem. Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are absent in many data systems. For example, data on adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa is virtually absent. Stronger data systems are needed to understand and track progress on the complex set of determinants of adolescent health and wellbeing. Another area of concern is the massive inequities within countries, often gendered or by geography. While female adolescents in Kenya are experiencing substantial declines in the burden of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, adolescent males are experiencing increasing burdens. In South Africa, years of healthy life lost to maternal disorders show more than 10-fold differences between the Western Cape and North West provinces. Where there's been strong political leadership, remarkable changes have been seen. Take the case of Benin Republic. The adolescent fertility rate in the country declined from 26% in 1996 to 20% in 2018 and child marriage from 39% to 31% over the same period. Strong political leadership has also led to substantial reductions in female genital mutilation or cutting. This fell from 12% of girls in Benin in 2001 to 2% in 2011–12 among 15–19-year-old girls in Benin Republic. Political leadership also facilitated the expansion, by the national parliament in 2021, of the grounds under which women, girls, and their families could access safe and legal abortion. But for every country that takes positive steps to protect the health and wellbeing of adolescents, several others regress. The last decade has witnessed regression in several countries. In 2024, The Gambia attempted to repeal a 2015 law criminalising all acts of female genital mutilation or cutting. In 2022, Nigeria's federal government ordered the removal of sex education from the basic education curriculum. The report calls for a multisectoral approach across multiple national ministries and agencies, including the office of the head of state, and within the UN system. Coordination and accountability mechanisms for adolescent health and wellbeing also need to be strengthened. Laws and policies are needed to protect the health and rights of adolescents, reduce the impact of the commercial determinants of health, and promote healthy use of digital and social media spaces and platforms. Strong political leadership at local, national, and global levels is essential. The report also calls for prioritised investments, the creation of enabling environments to transform adolescent health and wellbeing, and the development of innovative approaches to address complex and emerging health threats. It calls for meaningful engagement of adolescents in policy, research, interventions and accountability mechanisms that affect them. Without these concerted actions, we risk failing our young people and losing out on the investments being made in childhood at this second critical period in their development. The current adverse international aid climate is particularly affecting adolescents as much development assistance relates to gender and sexual and reproductive health. Concerted action in addressing adolescent health and wellbeing is an urgent imperative for sub-Saharan Africa. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Alex Ezeh, Drexel University; Russell Viner, UCL, and Sarah Baird, George Washington University Read more: Canada must take action to prevent climate-related migration We design cities and buildings for earthquakes and floods — we need to do the same for wildfires Eating wild meat carries serious health risks – why it still happens along the Kenya-Tanzania border Alex Ezeh is a fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (Stias). Russell Viner and Sarah Baird do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Sinar Daily
01-06-2025
- Health
- Sinar Daily
Number of obese and overweight teenagers predicted to rocket
In a major new review of the health and wellbeing of adolescents, experts said some main drivers of ill-health among teenagers have switched from cigarettes and alcohol to weight gain and mental health problems. 01 Jun 2025 08:02am In a major new review of the health and wellbeing of adolescents, experts said some main drivers of ill-health among teenagers have switched from cigarettes and alcohol to weight gain and mental health problems. - Photo illustrated by Sinar Daily LONDON - Almost half a billion teenagers around the world will be overweight or obese by 2030, experts predicted as they warned that adolescent health is at a "tipping point', PA Media/dpa reported. In a major new review of the health and wellbeing of adolescents, experts said some main drivers of ill-health among teenagers have switched from cigarettes and alcohol to weight gain and mental health problems. They warned that mental health among teenagers has seen a "significant decline' over the past three decades, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. And they projected that 464 million teenagers around the world will be overweight or obese by 2030 - 143 million more than in 2015. But the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing pointed out: "In terms of health risks, substance use (specifically tobacco and alcohol) has declined in every region.' The experts on the commission said action is needed to tackle threats to adolescents' health and wellbeing. They warned that progress in teenage health has "lagged well behind' the improvements that have been made in the health and development of young children - with these benefits being at risk of being "undermined' with increased ill-health in teenagers. They added that current funding is "not proportionate with the magnitude of the challenge'. They wrote: "Adolescence can no longer be ignored... the time to act is now.' The authors of the report also highlighted how the shift towards a "more digital world' could have a "profound impact on young people's future health and wellbeing'. But they warned against "overly restricting' access, saying there needs to be a balance, highlighting that the online world offers teenagers new opportunities for social interaction, education, employment and health promotion. Meanwhile, they pointed out that this generation of teenagers is the first to grow up among harsher climate conditions. "Today's adolescents are the first cohort of humans who will live their entire life experiencing the growing reverberations of climate change,' they wrote. Commission co-chairwoman Professor Sarah Baird, from George Washington University in the US, said: "The health and wellbeing of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping point, with mixed progress observed over the past three decades. "Whilst tobacco and alcohol use has declined and participation in secondary and tertiary education has increased, overweight and obesity have risen by up to eight-fold in some countries in Africa and Asia over the past three decades, and there is a growing burden of poor adolescent mental health globally. "Additionally, the challenges faced by the world's adolescents are at risk of being exacerbated by emerging global issues including climate change, world conflicts and a rapid transition to a more digital world. "Investing in the health and wellbeing of young people is crucial for safeguarding our collective future.' The authors of the commission's report point out that "investment in adolescent health will become increasingly important throughout the 21st century', adding: "As populations age and fertility rates fall in even the poorest countries, ensuring the health and wellbeing of adolescents will be crucial to all countries' health and prosperity.' - BERNAMA-PA Media/dpa More Like This
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Sylvia Park phone kiosk worker avoids conviction for intimate photo theft attempt
The consequence otherwise, the judge said, would have almost certainly been deportation and would likely be followed by a genuine threat to his safety upon his forced return to Sri Lanka due to having dishonoured his family name. His safety would be at further risk, Judge Fraser said, if a name was put to the viral video post - 'likely continuing the social media scrum of scorn and abuse', including a large number of racist comments. The customer's confrontation with the employee, in July last year, was viewed more than 1 million times on TikTok and was shared on other social media sites as well. It showed the irate victim insisting on an explanation from the defendant's manager as the defendant stood quietly in the background. At the end of the video, the defendant appeared to faint. Court documents state the victim had handed her Apple iPhone over to the Mobile Planet kiosk around 12.30 that afternoon wanting it fixed ahead of an overseas holiday. Another employee took her information, including her phone access code, and told her to return in 45 minutes. 'She inquired why her pin number was required and was told it was to check the camera function after it was fixed,' the agreed summary of facts for the case states. The defendant then scrolled through her photos and used the Apple AirDrop function - used to wirelessly send files between nearby phones - to send the nude photo of the customer to himself. In the viral TikTok video, it was explained that the victim had taken the photo years ago for a partner and the employee would have needed to scroll for quite some time to get to it. After collecting her phone, the woman received a message that an AirDrop attempt had failed. The notification included a thumbnail photo of the intimate image. 'The victim gave the staff of Mobile Planet permission to access her phone for the purpose of fixing her camera,' authorities noted in the summary of facts. 'She did not give the defendant permission to view her photographs and attempt to obtain the photographs, which are her property.' The defendant, who has no previous criminal history, pleaded guilty to trying to access a computer system for dishonest purposes. 'He accepts this is wrong. He is deeply remorseful for it,' said defence lawyer Sarah Baird, who described her client as an 'otherwise exemplary young man who has made a mistake'. Since then, she said, he has tried to pay back the community for the 'momentary lapse in judgement' by volunteering at Auckland City Mission for over 100 hours. Advertise with NZME. Police opposed the defendant's application for a discharge without conviction but were neutral to his permanent name suppression application. The media opposed suppression, noting the futility of trying to contain the already widely distributed video. The victim, who did not attend the hearing, also opposed the requests. In a written victim impact statement referred to by the judge, the woman said she continues to feel anxiety in public spaces. The incident, she said, triggered 'past trauma of men taking advantage of me'. Now she has trouble trusting people even in a professional environment, she said. 'She said she should not have to live with the violation while you walk away without consequences,' Judge Fraser noted. But the judge also pointed to defence submissions that the defendant came from a respected family in Sri Lanka, where family honour plays a large part in the culture. He feared emotional rejection, long-term isolation and physical violence if his family were to find out about the case, the court was told. The judge referred to the defendant's own explanation, that he came across the photo by accident and impulsively decided to send it to himself 'out of foolish curiosity and poor judgment'. The defendant said he is thankful the attempt failed. 'There is absolutely no doubt that you are experiencing remorse,' Judge Fraser said, adding that the defendant has been assessed as having a low likelihood of reoffending. 'The consequences [of name publication] for you are enormous.' The judge ordered the defendant to pay $1500 in emotional harm reparation to the victim. He acknowledged, however, that the defendant wouldn't have the ability to pay it off until he is able to gain employment again.
Hans India
21-05-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Over 46 cr adolescents globally will be obese by 2030, face many health disorders: Lancet
New Delhi: The health of adolescents is at a tipping point, with more than 46 crore adolescents globally estimated to be obese and face several health and mental disorders by 2030, according to an analysis published by the Lancet Commission on Wednesday. In the second analysis on adolescent health and well-being since 2016, the Commission estimates that by 2030, one-third of adolescents in high-income countries in Latin America, and the Middle East will be overweight, underscoring the shortcomings in combating adolescent obesity. The analysis, based on data from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study, projects that 46.4 crore (or 464 million) adolescents globally will be overweight or obese by 2030 -- 143 million more than in 2015. There will still be over 1 billion of the world's adolescents (aged 10–24 years) living in countries where preventable and treatable health problems like HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, unsafe sex, depression, poor nutrition and injury collectively threaten the health and well-being of adolescents. Notably, in 2030, 4.2 crore years of healthy life will be lost to mental disorders or suicide (20 lakh more than in 2015). "The health and well-being of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping point, with mixed progress observed over the past three decades,' said Commission co-chair, Professor Sarah Baird, from George Washington University in the US. "While tobacco and alcohol use has declined and participation in secondary and tertiary education has increased, overweight and obesity have risen by up to eight-fold in some countries in Africa and Asia over the past three decades, and there is a growing burden of poor adolescent mental health globally,' she added. Further, the Commission also identified several significant new threats to adolescent health such as climate change and the shift toward a more digital world. Today's adolescents are the first generation who will live their entire lives with the average annual global temperature that has consistently been 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels. And by 2100, 1.9 billion adolescents will live in a world that is expected to warm to around 2.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, bringing catastrophic risks to 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 projections suggest that, without political will, policy initiatives, and financial investments, there will still be more than 1 billion adolescents living in multi-burden countries in 2030. Baird urged for increasingly "investing in the health and well-being of young people' to safeguard the 'collective future'.
