Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

A Poor Diet in College Can Lead to a Lifetime of Bad Health

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

University students often get a reputation of living on a diet of microwavable meals and energy drinks. While these questionable decisions are usually chalked up to the college lifestyle, a new study is stressing the importance of ditching these habits after graduation. Researchers from the University of British Columbia Okanagan suggest poor dietary habits established during college can contribute to future health issues years and even decades later — including obesity, respiratory illnesses, and depression.

Dr. Joan Bottorff, a professor with UBCO’s School of Nursing, is one of several international researchers involved with this multi-site study that assessed the eating habits of university students. Nearly 12,000 medical students from 31 universities in China took part in this project, which aimed to determine the association between eating behaviors, obesity, and various diseases.

We know many students consume high-calorie meals along with sugary foods and drinks and there is lots of evidence to show those kinds of eating behaviors can lead to obesity,” Dr. Bottorff says in a university release. “These are not the only habits that lead to obesity, but they are important and can’t be ruled out.”

A typical student diet consisting of high-sugar or high-calorie foods can be a long-term issue; these habits often lead to obesity. Dr. Bottorff adds there is evidence suggesting stress and anxiety can cause overeating, and overeating is also known to lead to stress and depression.

The study was published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/poor-diet-college-bad-health/

Eating Disorders in Teen Girls Doubled During the Pandemic

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedPage Today.

According to a new study, eating disorders in teen girls doubled during the pandemic, and increases were also seen in anxiety disorders, ADHD, and depression.

Among teenage girls, the prevalence of anxiety disorders, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and eating disorders all increased, with the prevalence of diagnosed eating disorders more than doubling, from 0.26% in March 2020 to 0.36% in October 2020 and 0.56% in March 2022, reported Loreen Straub, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues.

"Female youth, especially female adolescents, represented the most vulnerable population with regard to marked increases in the prevalence of MH [mental health] diagnoses during the pandemic, the most pronounced being the prevalence of eating disorders," the authors wrote in a research letter published in JAMA Network Open.

Asked what could be behind the rise in mental health diagnoses, Straub said she and her colleagues could only speculate. The pandemic disrupted nearly everyone's daily routines, increased social isolation and financial strain on families, and reduced healthcare access. Among younger people in particular, it led to a "general lack of structure" that may also have been a contributor, she added.

In all, about 1.7 million youths contributed data to each calendar month; 440,722 were girls ages 6 to 12, 410,373 were girls ages 13 to 18, 461,331 were boys ages 6 to 12, and 426,358 were boys ages 13 to 18.

One limitation to the study was that it included only commercially insured youths; therefore, "patterns might look different" for publicly or uninsured populations, Straub said.

Source: MedPage Today
https://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/eatingdisorders/104649

Evidence of 'Pandemic Brain' in College Students

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

Decision-making capabilities of college students—including some graduating this spring—were likely negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, new research suggests.

Students in the small study conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University were less consistent in their decision-making during the 2020 fall semester compared to students who had participated in similar research over several previous years.

The researchers compared responses to a hypothetical situation made by students during the pandemic to responses made by students in earlier studies. They found evidence that students in 2020 were more likely to cycle between going with their gut and more thoroughly mulling over their answers depending on how the scenario was described.

"Our theory is that feeling stressed by everything going on was limiting students' resources to really evaluate the information that was presented to them," said lead author Melissa Buelow, professor of psychology at Ohio State's Newark campus.

The research also suggests that the prolonged and wide-ranging uncertainties that came with the global lockdown—far different from an acute stressor imposed in a lab—affected the brain region responsible for problem-solving and decision-making.

Buelow conducted the study with Ohio State Newark psychology faculty members James Wirth and Jennifer Kowalsky. The research was published recently in the Journal of American College Health.

Buelow and her colleagues were inspired to do the study after they referred to their own foggy thinking as "pandemic brain" in casual conversation.

A clinical neuropsychologist, Buelow has used the Adult Decision Making Competence (ADMC) scale in her research for a decade. For this study, researchers compared data from a pre-pandemic sample of 722 undergraduates who had been assessed with the ADMC scale to data from 161 students who participated in one of two assessments during the 2020 fall semester.

The main finding: Instead of recognizing that ethics-based scenarios resulted in the same outcome, whether presented as a gain or loss, students in 2020 were more likely to answer differently based on how the information was framed.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-evidence-pandemic-brain-college-students.html

Pandemic is Over But Most Kids Are Still on Their Couch Too Much

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Although the World Health Organization says COVID-19 is no longer a global emergency, there’s another pandemic issue still causing problems — inactive kids. A new study finds the majority of children continue to spend too much time on the couch despite activity rates returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Researchers at the University of Bristol discovered that by the summer of 2022, only 41 percent of children in the United Kingdom were meeting the national recommended physical activity guidelines of an hour of exercise per day. Immediately after the pandemic, a mere 37 percent reached the target, which includes moderate-to-vigorous exercise — defined as activity that leaves children slightly hot, sweaty, and out of breath. Based on those figures, 59 percent of children are still lagging behind and way too inactive in the wake of COVID.

Although there has been a slight overall improvement, children have become more sedentary during the week, being physically inactive for an additional 13 minutes compared to the pandemic period.

Study authors measured the physical activity levels of 393 children between 10 and 11 years old between June and December 2021. They assessed an additional 436 children of the same age from January to July of the same year. The participants came from 28 schools in the Bristol area.

The children and a parent or caregiver wore an accelerometer, which measured the movements of the participants and completed a questionnaire. The team compared this data to pre-pandemic data collected from nearly 1,300 children and their parents from 50 schools in the same region.

The research is published in the journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/pandemic-kids-still-on-couch/

Teen Dating Violence Sets Stage for Future Abusive Relationships

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Teens who are abused by a romantic partner may suffer long-lasting repercussions, and this is especially true for girls, a new analysis finds.

Investigators who reviewed 38 studies concluded that teenage dating violence was linked to a higher risk for additional relationship violence in the teen years and even into adulthood.

These unhealthy relationships were also associated with higher long-term risk for substance abuse (drugs and alcohol) and mental health struggles.

“Teen dating violence has been defined as a variety of harmful partner-directed behaviors — including physical, sexual, psychological, cyber violence — that occur within adolescent romantic relationships,” said study lead author Antonio Piolanti.

For the new study, Piolanti and his colleagues looked over studies that collectively focused on the various forms of violent behavior that can occur within a youthful romance. Most of the studies were conducted in the United States. Participants were 13 to 18 years old. More than half the studies tracked participants for more than five years.

Both victims and perpetrators of teen violence were found to have higher odds for post-relationship problems, though risk was greatest among victims. The authors did not seek to quantify that risk, however.

Teens who had experienced relationship violence were found to face a higher risk for more relationship violence going forward, with one-third of the studies finding greater odds among kids who continued to date while still teens.

The findings were published in the journal Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/dating-violence-2659908524.html

Which Kids Face the Highest Risk of Self-Harm?

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Growing numbers of American kids and teens are cutting or burning themselves, banging their heads against walls, pulling out their hair and even trying to die by suicide. But figuring out who is at highest risk for harming themselves has been a daunting challenge until now.

Researchers report they have developed risk profiles that can help doctors pinpoint which kids or teens are in the most danger.

"The U.S. is in the midst of a mental health crisis, with mental health diagnoses and hospitalizations surging over the past few years, and many of these hospitalizations are for self-harm events or concern for future self-harm," said study author Dr. James Antoon, an assistant professor of pediatrics and hospital medicine at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

"Self-harm is a big bucket of events from mild things like cutting on the arms or thighs to taking so much Tylenol that you die on purpose or jumping out of a window, and we wanted to find out which kids require hospitalization and more intensive treatment and monitoring," he said.

His team developed four risk profiles for serious self-harm based on age, gender, and psychiatric and medical conditions. Of nearly 1,100 children hospitalized for psychiatric reasons at two children's hospitals from April 2016 to March 2020, 37% were there for self-harm.

The researchers found that boys aged 10 to 13 with ADHD, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, or another developmental disorder were 80% more likely to engage in serious self-harm behavior that requires hospitalization. Meanwhile, teen girls aged 14 to 17 with depression and anxiety, substance- and trauma-related disorders, and personality and eating disorders were also at high risk for serious self-harm, the study showed.

Suicide attempts comprised the majority of serious self-harm behaviors in the study.

In a counterintuitive finding, kids who were at moderate risk for serious self-harm didn't necessarily have depression, Antoon said. "It is assumed that if you are suicidal, you must be depressed, but there are other things that can drive self-harm and suicide, including anxiety disorders," he noted.

The study was published online in the journal Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/self-harm-2659908631.html

Leisure-Time Physical Activity May Improve Mental Health in Teens

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by News Medical.

A recent study led by the University of Eastern Finland suggests that regular leisure-time physical activity, even in small doses, is associated with lower odds of depression, anxiety, chronic stress, and school psychologist visits among Finnish adolescents. However, the relationship between active school transport, i.e., walking or cycling to school, and mental health remains inconclusive. The findings were published in the prestigious Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.

Regular physical activity can improve mental health through various pathways, such as increasing the production of “feel-good” hormones, enhancing sleep quality, and boosting self-confidence. While mental health problems are common, few large population-based studies have examined the relationship between physical activity and adolescent mental health. Furthermore, it is currently unknown whether active school transport can have beneficial effects on mental health.

The researchers observed that leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was associated with better mental health among nearly 33,000 15-to-16-year-old adolescents. Compared with inactivity, as little as 30 minutes of weekly physical activity was associated with 17% lower odds of chronic stress symptoms. In addition, the odds of depression and anxiety symptoms were 22% and 32% lower, respectively, for adolescents who reported an hour of weekly physical activity. The most physically active youth (i.e., those reporting at least 4 hours of physical activity a week) had the lowest odds of mental health symptoms.

The association of active school transport with mental health differed from leisure-time physical activity. No associations were found between low-to-moderate doses (less than 30 minutes) of daily active school transport and mental health. However, walking or cycling to school for more than 30 minutes a day was, surprisingly, associated with higher odds of depression symptoms and school psychologist visits.

The study was conducted in collaboration with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the nationwide School Health Promotion study.

Source: News Medical
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230426/Leisure-time-physical-activity-may-improve-mental-health-in-teens.aspx

Pandemic Sent High School Sex to New Low

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

The first years of the pandemic saw a huge decline in high school students having sex, according to a government survey. Teen sex was already becoming less and less common before COVID-19.

About three decades ago, more than half of teens said they'd had sex, according to a large government survey conducted every two years. By 2019, the share was 38%. In 2021, 30% of teens said they had ever had sex. That was the sharpest drop ever recorded by the survey.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released reports analyzing the latest findings from the survey that looks into risky youth behaviors, including smoking, drinking, having sex, and carrying guns. More than 17,000 students at 152 public and private high schools responded to the 2021 survey. Participation was voluntary and required parental permission, but responses were anonymous.

The CDC also noted declines in students who said they were currently having sex or who'd had at least four sex partners.

The declines clearly had a lot to do with the pandemic that kept kids isolated at home for long stretches and, often, under extended adult supervision, experts said.

Another finding: The proportion of high school kids who identify as heterosexual dropped to about 75%, down from about 89% as recently as 2015. Meanwhile, the share who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual rose to 15%, up from 8% in 2015, when the survey began asking about sexual orientation.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-pandemic-high-school-sex-survey.html

Sharing Meals with Friends May Lower Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Teens

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by News Medical.

Previous research shows that family meals influence mental well-being; however, limited studies have evaluated the relationship between social eating behavior and mental disorders in adolescents.

A recent Clinical Nutrition study investigated the impact of family meals and social eating behavior on anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in adolescents.

The current cross-sectional study evaluated data from the Eating Healthy and Daily Life Activities (EHDLA) study. The EHDLA study obtained representative samples of adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age from Valle de Ricote, Spain. The study cohort included a total of 649 adolescents, 56.7% of whom were girls.

Mental disorders were evaluated by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), which considered 21 symptoms that were used to score participants on a four-point Likert-type scale. In this scoring system, zero was defined as "did not apply to me at all," with the gradual escalation in the score indicating an increase in depression, anxiety, and stress.

As compared to family meals, more social eating among friends was strongly associated with reduced anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in Spanish adolescents. Family meals were also inversely associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.

Social eating behavior is associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms in adolescents and could be due to the protection and support that they receive from family/peers. Sharing a good meal with family and friends also improves communication with peers/family, which has a positive effect on anxiety.

Adolescents who generally eat in the company of their peers have greater peer acceptance, which prevents anxiety symptoms.

Source: News Medical
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230503/Sharing-meals-with-friends-may-lower-depression-anxiety-and-stress-in-teens.aspx

Good Sleep is Key to Pre-Teen Mental Health

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

For many kids, the period between childhood and early adolescence can be difficult.

This transitional period is commonly known as "pre-adolescence" and can be a vulnerable time for the development of mental health problems, like anxiety and depression.

So many of our young adolescents need support to navigate this time as they develop. Improving a young person's sleep behavior could be one tool to do this.

Adequate, good-quality sleep is crucial for mental health and well-being for everyone—from infancy to old age. On the other hand, experiencing sleep problems, like insomnia, recurrent nightmares and breathing problems during sleep are associated with poorer mental health.

A new study published recently in JAMA Psychiatry set out to investgate the role of a range of sleep problems on the emotional and behavioral well-being of pre-adolescents.

Researchers analyzed data from a longitudinal study of more than 10,000 children and their parents or caregivers, which assessed children aged 9 to 11 and again two years later when they were 11 to 13. Parents and caregivers were asked about their child's typical sleep patterns, sleep problems and any changes to sleeping, as well as any emotional and behavioral problems they were experiencing.

The study found that one in four pre-adolescents experienced very low levels of sleep disturbance, while the majority (about two in five pre-adolescents, or 42%) experienced moderate levels of a range of problems. A minority experienced difficulties specifically in falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night (about one in seven, or 16%), or high levels of problems in general (17%).

When the adolescents were assessed two years later, there was a marked shift in the prevalence of sleep problems experienced by adolescents overall.

The number of young teenagers having difficulties specifically falling and staying asleep now made up one-third of the sample and one-third experienced low levels of problems. In contrast, one in five experienced moderate levels of "mixed" problems (down from 42%).

Notably, when adolescents experienced an increase in their sleep problems, they also experienced increases in both emotional and behavioral problems.

This effect was much stronger for emotional problems (like feelings of anxiety or a depressed mood), highlighting the importance of getting a good night's sleep for adolescents' emotional well-being.

When adolescents' sleep problems improved, so too did their mental health.

The findings indicate that treating sleep problems could be an effective way to improve mental health symptoms in young teens, and highlights the importance of good sleep for their mental well-being and may have long-lasting benefits throughout adolescence and beyond.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-good-key-pre-teen-mental-health.html