Adolescent Nutrition and Dietary Patterns

Adolescence is a period of rapid physical growth, psychosocial development and increasing autonomy that places unique nutritional demands on young people. Shifts in dietary patterns during this life stage are driven by changes in metabolic requirements, evolving food environments and the growing influence of peers, media and marketing. Globally, adolescents face a dual challenge: persistent undernutrition in many low- and middle-income countries alongside rising rates of overweight and obesity in urban and high-income settings. This “double burden of malnutrition” reflects both inadequate intake of essential nutrients and excessive consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Dietary diversity often declines as traditional, home-prepared meals give way to convenience and snack foods, with implications for micronutrient adequacy and long-term health. Understanding the complex interplay of biological, social and environmental determinants is critical to designing effective policies and interventions that support healthy eating behaviours and optimise growth and development during this formative stage.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent cohort research in urban Malaysia has highlighted the seasonal dimension of adolescent diet quality and nutritional status. By comparing dietary recalls and food security assessments across monsoon periods, investigators demonstrated that seasonal fluctuations influence consumption of key food groups—such as fish, legumes and meat—and impact anaemia prevalence, even when overall household food security remains unchanged. The findings underscore the need for seasonally tailored nutrition initiatives to enhance diet adherence and prevent micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable urban populations.

A broader synthesis in a leading multidisciplinary journal has reframed adolescence as a critical investment period with implications for the next generation. This perspective emphasises how nutritional status in early life and during teenage years shapes reproductive health, offspring development and intergenerational health trajectories. By linking adolescent growth and social development to outcomes in the preconception and post-partum periods, this work calls for integrated strategies that span education, health and social policy to secure long-term benefits for both current adolescents and their future children.

Adolescent Nutrition and Dietary Patterns publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in adolescent nutrition and dietary patterns across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Dietary diversity: The number of distinct food groups eaten over a reference period, used as a proxy for diet quality and micronutrient adequacy.

Food security: Reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

Micronutrient adequacy: The extent to which intake of essential vitamins and minerals meets established requirements for growth and health.

Anthropometry: Measurement of body size and composition (such as height, weight and haemoglobin) to assess nutritional status.

Double burden of malnutrition: The coexistence of undernutrition (wasting, stunting, micronutrient deficiencies) and overnutrition (overweight, obesity) within populations or individuals.

References

1. Seasonality, food security, diet quality and nutritional status in urban poor adolescents in Malaysia. Scientific Reports (2023).
2. Adolescence and the next generation. Nature (2018).
3. Interpersonal determinants of diet quality and eating behaviors in people aged 13–30 years: A systematic scoping review. Obesity Reviews (2024).
4. Adolescent nutrition and health: characteristics, risk factors and opportunities of an overlooked life stage.. Proceedings of The Nutrition Society (2023).
5. Minimum Dietary Diversity for Adolescents: Multicountry Analysis to Define Food Group Thresholds Predicting Micronutrient Adequacy among Girls and Boys Aged 10–19 Years. Current Developments in Nutrition (2024).