Obesity is a multifaceted chronic condition with several contributing causes, including biological risk factors, socioeconomic status, health literacy, and numerous environmental influences. Of particular concern are the increasing rates of obesity in children and adolescents, as rates of obesity in youth in the United States have tripled within the last three decades. Youth from historically disadvantaged backgrounds tend to have higher rates of obesity compared to other groups. Adolescents often do not meet intake recommendations for certain food groups and nutrients, which may contribute to a heightened risk of obesity. With obesity disproportionately affecting adolescents (ages 12-19 years), negative effects of excess adiposity may be particularly salient during this critical period of development. The presentation of chronic cardiometabolic disease symptoms typically observed in adults, such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and inflammation, are becoming increasingly common in adolescents with obesity. Additionally, there is dynamic interplay between obesity and psychosocial health, as adolescents with obesity may have increased levels of stress, depressive symptoms, and reduced resilience. To reduce and prevent adolescent obesity, the implementation of theory-driven multicomponent school-and community-based interventions have been suggested. These interventions promote knowledge and self-efficacy for healthful practices that have the potential to progress to sustained behavior change.

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Copper (Cu) is an essential nutrient whose requirement is increased during pregnancy and lactation. These represent times of critical growth and development, and the fetus and neonate are particularly vulnerable to deficiencies of this nutrient. Genetic mutations that predispose the offspring to inadequate stores of Cu can be life threatening as is observed in children with Menkes disease. During the last decade, severe Cu deficiency, once thought to be a rare condition, has been reported in the literature at an increasing frequency. Secondary Cu deficiencies can be induced by a variety of ways such as excessive zinc or iron intake, certain drugs, and bariatric surgery. Premature and low birth weight infants can be born with low Cu stores. A number of mechanisms can contribute to the teratogenicity of Cu including decreased activity of select cuproenzymes, increased oxidative stress, decreased nitric oxide availability, altered iron metabolism, abnormal extracellular matrix protein crosslinking, decreased angiogenesis and altered cell signaling among others. The brain, heart, and vessels as well as tissues such as lung, skin and hair, and systems including the skeletal, immune, and blood systems, are negatively affected by suboptimal Cu during development. Additionally, persistent structural, biochemical, and functional adverse effects in the offspring are noted even when Cu supplementation is initiated after birth, supporting the concept that adequate Cu nutriture during pregnancy and lactation is critical for normal development. Although Cu-containing IUDs are an effective method for increasing intrauterine Cu concentrations and for reducing the risk of pregnancy, high amounts of dietary Cu are not thought to represent a direct developmental risk.

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Carotenoids are a category of health-promoting phytonutrients that are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables and have been used as a biomarker to approximate dietary fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake. Carotenoids are consumed, metabolized, and deposited in blood, skin, and other tissues. Emerging evidence suggests spectroscopy-based skin carotenoid measurement is a noninvasive method to approximate F/V intake. Spectroscopy-based skin carotenoid measurement overcomes bias and error inherent in self-reported dietary recall methods, and the challenges in obtaining, storing, and processing invasive blood samples. The objective of this systematic review was to examine criterion-related validity of spectroscopy-based skin carotenoid measurement as a proxy for F/V intake. The 3 methods examined were resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS), pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy (RS), and spectrophotometers. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) was performed in December 2018, yielding 7931 citations. Studies that examined associations between spectroscopy, blood carotenoids, and/or dietary intake were identified and reviewed independently by ≥2 reviewers to determine eligibility for inclusion. Twenty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria and all 29 studies found significant correlations or associations between spectroscopy-based skin carotenoids and plasma or serum carotenoids and/or dietary F/V intake. A majority of the studies evaluated carotenoid concentration in adults; however, 4 studies were conducted in infants and 6 studies evaluated children. Twenty studies specified the racial/ethnic groups from which the samples were drawn, with 6 including ≥20% of the sample from a minority, nonwhite population. The findings of this systematic review support the use of spectroscopy for estimating F/V intake in diverse human populations, although additional validation is needed, particularly among racially/ethnically diverse populations and populations of varying ages.

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Energy drinks are beverages marketed to quickly increase alertness and performance of the consumer that typically contain relatively high quantities of caffeine, simple carbohydrates, and a mixture of additional ingredients. The carbohydrate sources, usually glucose and sucrose, found in the beverages supply the substrates needed for physiological energy, while the high caffeine content supplies the perceived energy through enhancing feelings of alertness during fatigued states. Although mean youth caffeine consumption as a whole has decreased over the past 2 decades, adolescent energy drink consumption has significantly increased in the past 10 years. High energy drink consumption of youth is concerning due to the range of reported adverse reactions attributed to excessive caffeine consumption, ranging from mild sleep disturbances to death. Reactions are severe enough to require reporting to the National Poison Data System and may even require emergency medical treatment. Studies have also shown that adolescents who consume energy drinks are likely to also use tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. There is substantial evidence to suggest that the risk energy drinks pose to health are incredibly hazardous and should not be consumed by children and adolescents.