Adolescent health services need improvement around the globe, a new report says.
Courtesy SrdjanPav, iStockphoto
“The findings are alarming and they demand urgent action and accountability, in collaboration with adolescents, to create safer spaces and meaningful change.”
— Susan Sawyer
Health and well-being during adolescence can determine lifelong development. But many young people around the globe are struggling with challenges that can harm their physical and mental health, a new international report finds.
Released May 20 by the 2025 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, the research found youth around the world are being exposed to violence, extreme weather, poor public health infrastructure, mental health stressors and more, hindering their health.
“The findings are alarming and they demand urgent action and accountability, in collaboration with adolescents, to create safer spaces and meaningful change,” Susan Sawyer chair of adolescent health within the University of Melbourne’s Department of Pediatrics, who worked on the report, said in a news release.
Adolescent health has improved only marginally around the world over the past decade, report researchers found. Serious diseases, obesity and mental and behavioral health issues have all increased among the population.
Most adolescents live in urban areas, which tend to limit access to opportunities for physical activity while providing easy access to unhealthy food, contributing to obesity rates, the report said. A March study predicted that about a third of adolescents worldwide will have overweight or obesity by 2050.
Teenagers in Brazil and other countries risk losing school days due to climate extremes, a Lancet report finds.
Photo by FG Trade, courtesy iStockphoto
In addition, in some countries, youth are exposed to armed conflict and risk becoming refugees, which are major stressors. Over the last 30 years, the number of adolescents exposed to violent conflict has more than doubled.
As human-caused climate change worsens around the globe, young people are being impacted. Nearly all youth globally have experienced at least one major climate disaster, and most live in regions that are significantly affected by rising temperatures. Schools can shutter for weeks because of heat waves or floods, interrupting education and social activities. Climate-related stress can cause PTSD, anxiety and depression.
As adolescents are often grouped with either children or adults in health programming, their health needs can be overlooked, the report said. Adolescents make up 9% of health needs across low- and middle-income countries, but receive less than 3% of health funding.
Report authors called for youth input on health, adequate funding, and better data and evidence on adolescent health needs.
“A common myth is that adolescents are healthy and don’t need health services,” Sawyer said. “Yet our findings show that in every country, adolescents need access to responsive health services that can confidentially identify and respond to their emerging health needs.”
Improved health education would also benefit the world’s adolescents. Schools, universities and local governments can raise awareness of services, while family members and neighbors can reinforce healthy habits of diet and sleep, for example.
Overlooking adolescent health limits the capacity of young people at one of the most crucial developmental periods of their life, researchers said.
“Protecting their health is one of the strongest mechanisms we have to safeguard our collective future, ensure a more just society, and create a healthier and more productive planet,” the commission said.
For more information on “A Call to Action: The Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing,” visit www.thelancet.com.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
