Is your teenager skipping breakfast? Why is that happening and what can you do? As per the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which surveyed adolescent health and well-being found that 1 in 4 students in high school ate breakfast, which means 3 in 4 high school students are not eating their breakfast. This data is as per the 2023 survey.

What Did The Study Intend?

The report describes a 10-year long trend and also recent changes among the two years. The study delved deeper into adolescents' dietary, physical activity and sleep behaviors. The study is also based on a national youth risk behavior survey of a representative sample of students from grade nine to 12.

What Did The Study Find?

The study found that while high school students drank slightly less soda and sports drinks and consumed more water, other healthy eating habits declined. In 2023, only 27% of students ate breakfast every day in the past week. The numbers were even lower for female students, with just 22% eating breakfast daily, compared to 32% of male students. Boys were also more likely to eat fruits and vegetables daily and drink water at least three times a day. Poor mental health and lack of physical activity have also been linked to skipping breakfast.

The other findings included a survey across 10-year period, where a decrease in the percentage of students eating fruits from 65% to 55%, eating vegetables, from 61% to 58%, and having breakfast daily from 38% to 27% was noted.

However, there was a positive trend among this, which was in children drinking plain water at least three times a day, which increased from 49% to 54% from when the survey began in 2015.. There were fewer students who also said that they drank soda in 2023 than in 2013. On an average, in 2013, around 22% students avoided soda, whereas in 2023, 31% students avoided it.

The report also emphasized that a healthy diet, along with daily physical activity and sufficient sleep further contributes to a healthy lifestyle. “The 10-year trends from 2013 to 2023 also show a decline in healthy dietary, physical activity, and sleep behaviors,” the survey reported.

Why Do High School Students Skip Breakfast?

While there is no one straightforward answer to it, psychologists and those who study children, believe that for many high school going kids, it is the easiest time to skip a meal. This is because they are caught between rushing to school, or not just that hungry in the morning. So for them, to sit down to have a breakfast may seem hassle and something they would have to take time out from their busy schedule. They at this age also prioritize their extra-curricular activities.

There has also been a shift in their circadian rhythm, and most teens cannot fall asleep before 11 pm, or even at midnight. Which means they wake up tired and struggle to do things right in the morning, which is why they choose to skip breakfast or give extra minutes to any other activities.

There is of course another, more popular reason, to lose weight. While experts and studies, like the one published in the Journal of Nutrition that found skipping breakfast leads to higher levels of hunger hormones, the students still feel the need to do this. However, it could lead to a slow metabolism, prompt the body to conserve energy and burn fewer calories, weight gain and deprive yo off the essential nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamin D.

Without a morning breakfast, your blood sugar might drop too, which can increase irritability and stress, along with including the risk of depression in teenage.

The vaccine-preventable measles is surging worldwide, especially in the US. The outbreaks that began in Texas last year are now spreading to several other states, with Utah being the new center of the highly contagious disease.

The US, which eliminated measles in 2000, is also at great risk of losing its status, as the CDC reported 1,748 confirmed cases across 33 jurisdictions between January 1 and April 16, 2026. Over 94 per cent of these cases are linked to ongoing outbreaks, the CDC said.

While the best way to prevent infection remains the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, anti-vaxxers, goaded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have stayed away from the vaccine.

However, watching an outbreak rip through their state has made the deadly realities of the disease more concrete.

Amid the soaring cases, Bloomberg News reported a quiet change among anti-vaxxers, as they have started to question their own deeply held beliefs and the conspiracy theories that fueled them.

Many of them have taken the MMR vaccination and then also posted emotional TikTok videos aimed at the anti-vax crowd, saying, “You can change your mind”.

Read More: Measles Again On The Rise Globally: Is India At Risk?

Measles: Rise In MMR Vaccine Uptake

In several measles hotspots, there has been an uptake in the MMR shot that is slowing down the outbreaks, the report said.

The health department in South Carolina saw a nearly 170 per cent increase in MMR immunizations at free clinics in January from the year prior and is close to declaring its outbreak over.

MMR vaccines jumped 15 per cent in Texas last year before the state declared its outbreak over in August. Utah’s health department has also recorded a bump in immunizations since last summer, a hopeful sign for the country’s most active current outbreak.

The report cited that doctors are playing a key role in trying to build trust with no pressure or judgment. They are easing the anti-vaxxers' concerns and giving them the crucial assurance that their choice is deeply personal and private.

“For whatever reason, they have different information,” Stuart Simko, a pediatrician in Greer, South Carolina, was quoted as saying.

“You don't have to tell anybody you gave your child any sort of vaccine,” Simko added.

Lisa Carroll, a physician in South Carolina and professor at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, helps run a weekly outreach program at a local food pantry where she’s increasingly encountered more families asking about the MMR. Many of them aren’t explicitly anti-vaccine; they just don’t know much about the shot or where to get it, she said. It was just easier for some of them to sign an exemption form, the report said.

In these cases, education on the true risk and safety of the MMR has led to that change of mindset, Carroll said.

How Effective Is the Measles Vaccine? Who Needs A Booster Shot?

Also read: Vaccinated And Still Worried? Truth About Measles Vaccine Safety And Effectiveness

One dose of the MMR vaccine gives about 95 per cent protection against measles. If a second dose is given—usually between 4 and 6 years old—protection shoots up to about 99 per cent.

The vaccine is also 99 per cent effective against rubella and 88 per cent against mumps after the second dose. This is the reason why the two-dose schedule is the international norm. Indeed, measles vaccination alone is responsible for more than 60 per cent of all childhood lives saved by vaccines worldwide over the past 50 years.

In general, a measles vaccine booster may be advisable for:

• Children who received only one dose of the MMR vaccine
• Adults who were vaccinated with the inactivated version between 1963 and 1967
• High-risk adults, such as healthcare workers or international travellers
• Anyone whose blood test shows a lack of immunity.

The UK Parliament has passed a “landmark bill” to ban smoking among children who were born on or after 1 January 2009.

Under the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, people aged 17 or younger face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes.

Both the House of Commons and Lords settled on a final draft of the legislation that aims to create a smoke-free generation.

Once it gets the royal assent, ministers will be able to regulate tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products, including their flavors as well as packaging.

“This afternoon marks the end of this bill’s journey throughout parliament. It is a landmark bill; it will create a smoke-free generation,” Health minister Baroness Merron told the House of Lords on Monday.

“It is, in fact, the biggest public health intervention in a generation, and I can assure all noble Lords it will save lives.”

Noting that the Bill “does upset a great many people in that industry”, including retailers", Lord Naseby, a Conservative former MP, called for "a proper understanding of how we educate people not to take up smoking”.

What Is The Tobacco and Vapes Bill

It was first proposed by former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak On 4 October 2023 at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. He shared plans to phase out cigarette smoking in the UK by raising the minimum age to purchase cigarettes from 18 each year, every year, until eventually no person can legally buy cigarettes. A similar proposal was made by the Labour Party earlier that year.

Plans for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, legislation implementing such a ban, were announced in the King's Speech during the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.

The bill passed its first reading on 20 March 2024 and its second reading on 16 April 2024.

Also read: Banning Tobacco Can Save 1.2 million Lives By 2095

On 24 October 2024, the new government announced a ban on the sale of single use vapes, effective from June 2025, in an effort to address environmental concerns and the rising prevalence of vaping among children.

Under the new Bill,

• It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009
• It restricts advertising and sales of nicotine products. This includes a ban on selling vapes to anyone under 18 and selling them through vending machines.
• The bill also allows the regulation of vaping products
• The Bill expands smoke-free areas to include playgrounds and locations near schools and hospitals.

Also read: UK Bans Disposable Vape: Will This Really Stop Young People And Reduce Waste?

How Does Smoking Kill?

Smoking is the most common risk factor and the single biggest cause of preventable death for a host of diseases, ranging from respiratory diseases to tuberculosis to cancer.

Smoking damages the human body and causes

• stillbirths,
• asthma,
• heart disease,
• stroke
• Dementia
• lung cancer
• other cancers.

People use aluminium foil as a common cooking tool and food storage solution, which studies show to be safe for most people when used occasionally. The proper method of use determines whether it functions as the best solution for storing food over extended periods. People can store dry, uncooked items in foil because it creates fewer safety risks than keeping reactive foods for extended periods. Ms Aditi Prasad Apte, Senior Clinical Nutritionist at Aster RV Hospital, Bangalore, in an interview with Health and Me, spoke about the dangers of storing food in aluminium foil. The expert also shared alternatives that are safer and can be helpful.

What happens when you store food in aluminium foil?

People who eat food processed with aluminium may ingest small amounts of aluminium through their meals. The likelihood of this occurrence increases when particular conditions exist, which include using food that contains heat, acid, salt, or strong spices. These include tomatoes, citrus, vinegar, and strongly flavoured foods. Heat increases the transfer, which means that wrapping hot food directly in foil produces higher transfer rates than covering leftovers for short periods. One should understand that storing hot food in foil can create food safety issues because of aluminium contamination.

How does storing food in aluminium foil affect the kidneys?

The use of foil creates an incomplete airtight seal, which results in insufficient cooling and creates unsafe storage conditions when food remains at dangerous temperatures for extended periods. The health risks connected to long-term excessive aluminium exposure have remained a topic of scientific discussion for many years. The bodies of healthy people process and remove aluminium consumed through food mainly via the kidneys.

People who have kidney problems must handle aluminium exposure with special caution. Research has studied the links between high aluminium exposure and neurological and bone problems, but has found no proof that using foil for daily activities leads to these medical issues. The larger issue requires people to take steps to reduce their exposure to unnecessary risks whenever possible.

Are there any safer alternatives?

Safer alternatives for routine storage include glass containers, stainless steel containers, ceramic storage, and food-grade silicone options. These products provide specific benefits for storing hot leftovers, acidic foods, and items that need to be kept in refrigerators for extended periods. Parchment paper may also be a better barrier than foil in some cooking situations.

There are also several myths worth clarifying. Some people believe that aluminium foil contains harmful substances that make it unsafe to use. Normal, occasional use is not the same as dangerous exposure. Another myth is that foil always reacts with food; in reality, reaction risk depends heavily on the type of food, temperature, and duration of contact.

The fact is that foil works better for wrapping food and providing temporary coverage than it does as a standard storage method. The best approach requires people to use aluminium foil appropriately in cooking situations. People should not store acidic or hot food in foil for extended periods, and they should not consume food that has come into contact with damaged foil. The safest approach for regular home use is to use foil only when necessary, while understanding which materials work better in specific situations.