Obesity, Pregnancy and the Social Contract with Today’s Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescent health and well-being are of great concern worldwide, and adolescents encounter particular challenges, vulnerabilities and constraints. The dual challenges of adolescent parenthood and obesity are of public health relevance because of the life-altering health and socioeconomic effects on both the parents and the offspring. Prevention and treatment strategies at the individual and population levels have not been successful in the long term, suggesting that adolescent pregnancy and obesity cannot be managed by more of the same. Here, we view adolescent obese pregnancy through the lens of the social contract with youth. The disruption of this contract is faced by today’s adolescents, with work, social and economic dilemmas which perpetuate socioeconomic and health inequities across generations. The lack of employment, education and social opportunities, together with obesogenic settings, increase vulnerability and exposure to lifelong health risks, affecting their offspring’s life chances too. To break such vicious circles of disadvantage and achieve sustainable solutions in real-world settings, strong efforts on the part of policymakers, healthcare providers and the community must be oriented towards guaranteeing equity and healthy nutrition and environments for today’s adolescents. The involvement of adolescents themselves in developing such programs is paramount, not only so that they feel a sense of agency but also to better meet their real life needs.

Social Health and Psychological Safety of Students Involved in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Additionally, beyond the academic impacts, the pandemic had wider societal and emotional impacts for students around the world: mental-health issues were increasing, reports of violence against children emerged more often, obesity was increasing as was teenage pregnancy, and higher levels of chronic absenteeism and higher numbers of school dropouts resulted [ 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Interdisciplinary health promotion program for parents and children on nutritional status, body composition, and metabolic profile

“…Este período é marcado por inúmeras mudanças na composição corporal, maturação sexual e alterações psicológicas (Nicolucci, Maffeis, 2022). Berti et al (2022), afirmam que em meio a essas transições, a saúde e o bem-estar dos adolescentes trazem grandes preocupações aos serviços de saúde; os mesmos autores mencionam ainda, que a obesidade é uma das fragilidades deste período, devido aos efeitos socioeconômicos e de saúde que comprometem tanto a vida dos pais como dos filhos.…”