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 new breast cancer screening guidelines released by the American College of Physicians (ACP) call for mammography screening once every two years in asymptomatic, average-risk adult females, instead of the annual recommendation.

ACP is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide.

The guidance statement was developed by ACP's Clinical Guidelines Committee, which defined average risk as females

• who do not have a personal history of breast cancer or a diagnosis of a high-risk breast lesion,
• a genetic mutation such as BRCA 1 or 2 that is known to increase risk,
• another familial breast cancer risk syndrome,
• a history of high-dose radiation therapy to the chest at a young age.

While the annual mammography has long been considered the standard, in a paper published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the ACP authors explained that the changes have been made to tackle the harms caused by false positive results and the resulting psychological distress.

The false positive results can lead to "overdiagnosis, overtreatment, additional testing, and radiation exposure, and may outweigh the uncertain benefits in this population,” said the ACP.

Also read: Breast Cancer Screening: AI May Predict Tumors Before Mammograms Can Detect Them

Mammography For Breast Cancer: What Did The Guidelines Say

• The ACP stated that all average-risk females ages 50 to 74 should receive biennial screening mammography for breast cancer.

• It urged females between the ages of 40 and 49 to discuss with their doctor their risk for breast cancer and the benefits and harms of screening.

• The guidelines stated that asymptomatic, average-risk females who are 75 years or older, or those with a limited life expectancy, can discuss stopping routine screening with their doctor.

"This is because the benefits of screening beyond age 74 are reduced or uncertain, while potential harms, such as overdiagnosis, become more likely with increasing age," it said.

• Further, for asymptomatic, average-risk females who have dense breasts, ACP advises doctors to consider supplemental digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT).

"Decisions should consider potential benefits and harms, radiation exposure, availability, patient values and preferences, and cost," the ACP said, while advising against using supplemental MRI or ultrasound for screening in this population.

Why Experts Are Disagreeing

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in 40–49-year-old women in the United States, and screening is specifically performed to prevent death from breast cancer.

Screening only women ages 50-74 every other year – as called for by ACP – may result in up to 10,000 additional, and unnecessary, breast cancer deaths in the United States each year, said the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) in a joint statement.

Also read: What's The Confusion! Why Most Women Don’t Know When To Start Mammogram Screenings?

Calling the new guidelines “outdated and hyperbolic information”, the statement noted that it will cause continued confusion among women.

"Thousands more women would endure extensive surgery, mastectomies, and chemotherapy for advanced cancers than if their cancers were found early by an annual mammogram,” it said.

Current guidelines from the ACR and the SBI urge women to start annual screening at age 40.

The ACR also recommends that women have a breast cancer risk assessment by age 25. Those at higher risk for breast cancer should talk to their doctor about starting screening before age 40 and additional screening methods -- particularly those with genetic mutations or a strong family history of breast cancer.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) also urges starting annual screening at age 40 to save lives.

Further, the statement also called out ACP for its failure to recommend exams beyond digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) for screening women with dense breasts. The statement said this "is also out of step with current research, which shows the need to go beyond DBT to help find cancer in these women".

Three cases of meningitis have been reported among schoolchildren in the Weymouth area in the UK, health officials said.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), of the three cases, two are pupils at Budmouth Academy, Weymouth, and the third attends Wey Valley Academy. The authorities have now rolled out meningitis vaccinations to young people in the region.

The latest outbreak comes after a meningitis outbreak was reported in the Kent region in March, which affected more than 30 people, leaving one sixth-form pupil and a university student dead.

Is the Weymouth Meningitis Outbreak Linked to the Kent Outbreak?

As per the UKHSA, the new cases were confirmed between 20 March and 15 April and are not linked to the deadly Kent outbreak.

The two pupils at Budmouth Academy are contacts of each other, but it is reportedly not epidemiologically linked with the Wey Valley Academy case.

The three cases in Weymouth have been confirmed as Meningitis B (MenB) and are the same sub-strain type, but a different sub-strain to the one detected recently in Kent.

Notably, all pupils in years 7 to 13 in Weymouth, Portland, and Chickerell are to be offered antibiotics and the MenB vaccination.

Close contacts of the cases have already been offered antibiotics as a precaution.

Will The Weymouth Meningitis Spread Further?

Also read: Meningitis claimed 259,000 lives globally in 2023: The Lancet

According to UKHSA deputy director Dr Beth Smout, "it is possible that we will see further cases linked to these latest cases in Weymouth".

He stated that the authorities are widening the "offer of antibiotics and vaccination" as "an additional precaution" to reduce the risk of the infection spreading.

"School pupils and staff should attend school as normal if they remain well," the official said.

What Is Meningitis?

Meningitis is a serious medical condition that affects the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, the meninges. While fever is not always present, it is usually considered one of the classic symptoms of meningitis.

It is important to know the varied symptoms, causes, and treatments of meningitis for early diagnosis and proper management of the disease.

Symptoms Of Meningitis

Also read: Unique Symptoms Of Meningitis That Caused An Outbreak In Kent University

Smout urged everyone to be alert to the signs and symptoms of meningococcal meningitis. Common symptoms of meningitis

• Rash
• Headaches
• Neck stiffness
• Fever
• Drowsiness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Increased sensitivity to light.

"If the disease is suspected, you should seek immediate medical attention as the disease can progress rapidly," Smout said.

"The most important short-term thing and the quickest way for people to protect themselves is the antibiotic.

"The vaccine offers longer-term protection. There are two doses, four to six weeks apart, and you are only protected after the second dose," the official said.

A 2026 target trial emulation has found that glucagon-like peptide, also known as GLP-1, which is used by type-2 diabetes patients, can raise the risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction. According to a report published in the European Medical Journal, the impact of GLP-1s on sexual health outcomes in diabetic men has been inconsistent and limited. Erectile dysfunction, however, has been a prominent complication affecting 50 per cent of men with type-2 diabetes over their lifetime.

The effect of GLP-1 on men with type-2 diabetes

For this, researchers analysed the electronic health records of men aged 18 years and above with type-2 diabetes in the US from January 2019 to September 2024. Participants were started on treatment with either dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) or GLP-1, with 5,524 and 4,910 individuals, respectively. Men with a history of erectile dysfunction diagnosis or end-stage renal disease were not part of the study population. The mean age of these men was 63 years, and the average BMI was 32.8—55 per cent of participants were White, and 23 per cent were Black. GLP-1 users were younger and had a higher prevalence of obesity compared to DPP4i users.

Higher rate of erectile dysfunction

Experts involved in the study found that the incidence of erectile dysfunction in the GLP-1 group was about 35 cases per 1,000 person-years. In the case of DPP4i users, the number dropped to 28 per 1,000 person-years. Hence, people in the GLP-1 cohort had a 26 per cent higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction over a three-year follow-up period. Results were consistent across subgroups; however, they lacked statistical significance after adjustment for negative outcomes.

Can GLP-1 cause erectile dysfunction?

Researchers noted that the findings of the target trial emulation suggest that sexual health outcomes must be considered in diabetic men, especially those dealing with type-2 diabetes and undergoing treatment with GLP-1 drugs. These findings also highlight the need for randomised trials with standardised erectile dysfunction assessments to further investigate biological pathways.

What complications does type-2 diabetes cause in men?

Type-2 diabetes can cause the following complications in men:

1. Heart disease
2. Stroke
3. Erectile dysfunction
4. Kidney disease
5. Retrograde ejaculation
6. Lower testosterone levels
7. Urinary retention or frequent urination
8. Vision loss—diabetic retinopathy