How Adolescent Nutrition Affects Overall Health

Malnutrition And Its Types

Malnutrition affects many adolescents in extremes. They vary from being underweight and deficient in micronutrients to overweight and obese. Another disorder is anemia. Anemia is associated with a lack of essential vitamins and malabsorption in the gut.

It means they don’t have adequate healthy red blood cells to supply sufficient oxygen to their body’s tissues. This affects one out of every four teens and makes growth and development difficult. Anemia also results in lower productivity, which is crucial because most adolescents attend school and work.

In low and middle-income nations, the number of adolescents suffering from malnutrition is drastically higher. In terms of over-nutrition, one out of every five teenagers is overweight or obese, and the number is rising globally.

These problems are linked to a higher risk of experiencing diseases like diabetes or cancer and chronic health difficulties like hypertension.