Before the 21st century, there was substantial international investment in neonatal and pediatric health care in virtually all countries around the world. At the same time, there was little research on adolescence, as a specific period in time with specific health needs. This level of interest began to change when health and social data revealed that the gains made in neonatal and pediatric health care were being lost during adolescences. Public health researchers and health providers pointed to the lack of adolescent specific health care services designed to bridge the gap between children's health programs and the adult health infrastructure.
The argument for investing in adolescent health care and services is based on the cost effectiveness …show more content…
The recent Zia epidemic is teaching us just how important it is to tackle inequality and reproductive rights. Asking women to avoid pregnancy until the epidemic has passed or more is known about it—the current advice of the Brazilian Ministry of Health—without offering the necessary information, education, contraceptives, or access to abortion is a policy that can only increase inequalities. Women who are more at risk of mosquito bites—those living in substandard, crowded households, that have to be outdoors from dawn until sunset—are the same women who have the least access to sexual and reproductive health …show more content…
In adolescents, survey data show that less than one in every four adolescents meets the recommended guidelines for physical activity—60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. It is not surprising therefore that the number of adolescents who are overweight or obese is increasing in both low- and high-income countries. Many boys and girls in developing countries enter adolescence undernourished, and anemic, resulting from a lack of iron in their diet needed to produce hemoglobin. Anemia affects both girls and boys, and is the third leading cause of years lost to death and disability in adolescents. The critical issues in adolescent nutrition are explored in Chapter 11 Critical Issues in Adolescent Nutrition: Needs and Recommendations. The authors argue that developing healthy eating and exercise habits at this age are foundations for good health in adulthood. Reducing the marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars, or salt, and providing access to healthy foods and opportunities to engage in physical activity are important for all but especially children and adolescents. The authors provide evidence of how adolescent nutritional health can be addressed through an ecological approach that employs culturally relevant and developmentally
The argument for investing in adolescent health care and services is based on the cost effectiveness …show more content…
The recent Zia epidemic is teaching us just how important it is to tackle inequality and reproductive rights. Asking women to avoid pregnancy until the epidemic has passed or more is known about it—the current advice of the Brazilian Ministry of Health—without offering the necessary information, education, contraceptives, or access to abortion is a policy that can only increase inequalities. Women who are more at risk of mosquito bites—those living in substandard, crowded households, that have to be outdoors from dawn until sunset—are the same women who have the least access to sexual and reproductive health …show more content…
In adolescents, survey data show that less than one in every four adolescents meets the recommended guidelines for physical activity—60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. It is not surprising therefore that the number of adolescents who are overweight or obese is increasing in both low- and high-income countries. Many boys and girls in developing countries enter adolescence undernourished, and anemic, resulting from a lack of iron in their diet needed to produce hemoglobin. Anemia affects both girls and boys, and is the third leading cause of years lost to death and disability in adolescents. The critical issues in adolescent nutrition are explored in Chapter 11 Critical Issues in Adolescent Nutrition: Needs and Recommendations. The authors argue that developing healthy eating and exercise habits at this age are foundations for good health in adulthood. Reducing the marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars, or salt, and providing access to healthy foods and opportunities to engage in physical activity are important for all but especially children and adolescents. The authors provide evidence of how adolescent nutritional health can be addressed through an ecological approach that employs culturally relevant and developmentally