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.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at changing childhood vaccine recommendations, including moving toward separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into individual shots.

The executive order, titled “Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans,” has sparked debate over how childhood vaccines should be administered and whether combination vaccines should instead be given separately.

Amid criticism of the move, HealthandMe spoke to public health experts to understand whether splitting the MMR vaccine offers any proven health benefit and what it could mean for children and vaccination coverage.

What Does Splitting MMR Mean?

Dr. Sabine Kapasi, Global Health Strategist and a UN Advisor, told HealthandMe that combination vaccines are more than a matter of convenience.

“Combination vaccines are not simply a matter of convenience. They can reduce the number of injections and healthcare visits required, support timely vaccination and help health systems reach children who may otherwise be missed,” she said.

“The more fragmented the pathway becomes, the more important it is to understand its impact on uptake, completion and equity,” Dr. Sabine added.

Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, former President of IMA Cochin and Convener of the Research Cell, Kerala, also highlighted the practical disadvantage of requiring parents to make additional clinic visits when vaccines that can be administered together are separated.

Is Splitting MMR Healthier?

There is currently no adequate scientific validation for the argument that giving the MMR components separately is inherently healthier, according to Dr. Rajeev.

“The argument that splitting the shots is a healthier option does not have adequate scientific validation, because the body’s immune system routinely encounters numerous antigens simultaneously and effectively in everyday life,” he told HealthandMe.

Dr. Sabine emphasized that any change to childhood immunization policy should be based on evidence rather than simply altering an established schedule.

“Any change to childhood immunization policy should therefore be grounded in transparent evidence, rigorous safety and effectiveness assessment, and real-world data on vaccination coverage and completion,” she added.

Could More Vaccine Visits Increase Hesitancy?

Separating combination vaccines could make vaccination more cumbersome for families by requiring additional visits.

Dr. Sabine said vaccination programs operate within different health systems, meaning even small changes in scheduling can have implications for access, logistics, costs and continuity of care.

“The priority should remain consistent: designing immunization systems that are evidence-led, accessible and resilient enough to protect children across populations—not simply changing the schedule for the sake of changing it,” she said.

In a post on X US Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, also criticized the executive order and warned that breaking up combination vaccines could mean children need more shots to receive the same protection.

“It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe,” he said, urging parents to discuss vaccination decisions with their child’s pediatrician.

Former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said European countries do not routinely split the MMR vaccine into three separate shots. “No European country splits the MMR vaccine as 3 separate shots,” he said in a post on X.

He added that Russia and Tajikistan were historical partial exceptions but have since moved to full MMR vaccination.

Are There Any Potential Advantages?

Dr. Rajeev said one potential advantage of the new approach is the separation of vaccines into essential and optional categories.

He said this could give parents greater clarity about which vaccines are considered the highest priority and potentially help address some forms of vaccine hesitancy. The expert also pointed to US policy around childhood COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, saying that making these vaccines a shared decision between doctors and parents could be viewed as a progressive step.

Dry or burning eyes are often brushed aside as side effect of ageing. But new research suggests that for postmenopausal women, the problem may be more than just eye irritation.

A recent study in Post Reproductive Health found that postmenopausal women had more severe signs of dry eye disease (DED) than both younger women and men in the same age range.

Researchers say the condition is caused largely by tear-film instability and dysfunction of the meibomian glands, the tiny glands in the eyelids that produce the oily layer of tears.

The study included 319 participants: 102 postmenopausal women, 105 age-matched men and 112 younger healthy women.

Researchers assessed symptoms, tear production, tear-film stability, damage to the eye surface and meibomian gland function.

Postmenopausal women had the highest rate of severe dry eye, affecting 24.5%, compared with 16.2% of age-matched men and 18.8% of younger women.

They also had higher scores for dry-eye symptoms, more straining of the of the ocular-surface, shorter tear-break-up time and greater meibomian gland dysfunction. 20.6% of postmenopausal women reported burning.

Effect Of Menopause On Eye Health

Also read: Experimental Menopause Drug Shows Promise Mid-Stage Trial, Reduces Hot Flashes By 83%

The connection between eyes and menopause lies in the significant hormonal changes women face as they enter menopause.

The ocular surface, lacrimal glands and meibomian glands are affected by sex hormones, including oestrogen and androgens. When hormone levels change during and after menopause, these tissues may also function differently.

One of the important consequences of menopausal hormonal shifts is the disruption of the tear film. The tear film is like a thin protective coating over the eye. It contains an oily outer layer that slows evaporation. The meibomian glands produce this oil.

When these glands do not work properly, tears can evaporate too quickly. Doctors call this condition evaporative dry eye.

Dry Eye Does Not Mean The Eyes Have Stopped Producing Tears

Also read: Post-Menopausal Women Face A Higher Risk Of Fatty Liver Disease: How Falling Oestrogen Levels Impact Liver Health

Dry eye does not necessarily mean the eyes have stopped producing tears. In many postmenopausal women, the tears may not remain stable on the eye for a long time.

As the oily layer becomes impaired, tears evaporate faster. This can increase tear concentration, trigger inflammation and damage the ocular surface, creating a cycle of dryness and irritation.

Hormonal changes during menopause may contribute to this process, although researchers are still working to understand exactly how individual hormones influence dry eye.

A 2026 review also highlights increasing evidence that hormonal changes may interact with immune and inflammatory pathways on the ocular surface, rather than simply reducing tear production.

What Symptoms Should Postmenopausal Women Watch For?

Persistent burning, itching, grittiness, redness, light sensitivity, watery eyes or fluctuating vision can all occur with dry eye disease.

The latest study also found that clinical signs of disease were more severe in postmenopausal women even though symptom scores did not always differ significantly from other groups. This finding makes eye examinations particularly important during and after menopause.

The researchers concluded that recognising these differences could improve diagnosis and help doctors better understand the hormonal contribution to dry eye disease.

About one in 20 adults in the US hospitalized with firearm injuries develop bacterial infections, according to a study.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open as a research letter, showed that most infections occur during the initial hospitalization rather than after patients return home.

While firearm injuries are a major public health concern in the US, very little research has examined infectious complications that can occur after treatment.

"Firearm injury is a recognized risk for bacterial infection, but no large studies have described how often such infections occur and which patients are most at risk," said Jonathan D. Baghdadi, associate professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

Most Infections Emerged Early

To better understand the risks after gunshot injuries, researchers analyzed data from 24,024 adults hospitalized with firearm injuries at 323 hospitals across the country between January 2019 and May 2021.

The study found that 1,236 patients—about 5%—developed a bacterial infection. Most cases occurred during the initial hospitalization, with only 1.3% occurring during the 90-day follow-up period.

Researchers also found that patients who underwent surgeries involving the head, neck, spine, liver or lower abdomen faced the highest risk of developing bacterial infections.

Who Faced the Greatest Risk?

The risk was more common among patients undergoing head, neck, spine or lower-abdominal surgery were especially vulnerable to bacterial infections.

The team found that most commonly identified pathogens patients were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci. These pathogens are known to acquire dangerous resistance, creating major challenges in hospitals and communities worldwide

Antibiotic exposure among patients who did not develop infections was generally low, which researchers said reflects current recommendations to limit preventive antibiotic use when there is no bacterial infection.

Bacterial infection was not independently linked to a higher risk of death among patients who survived at least one night in the hospital.

Study Limitations

The authors noted that the research relied on administrative hospital data and that complete follow-up information may not have been available for every patient.

Nonetheless, the large national dataset provided an opportunity to evaluate infection risk across a broad and diverse patient population.

"Recovery from firearm injuries can be complicated. Although our study focused on mortality, infections can impact recovery in multiple ways, contributing to long-term pain and disability," Baghdadi said.

"By identifying the patients most likely to develop these complications, we hope this work contributes to more informed clinical decision-making and ultimately better outcomes for patients."

Baghdadi hopes that by developing a definition to identify patients with bacterial infection after firearm injury using observational and administrative datasets, and demonstrating how to apply it, other researchers will use the approach to conduct studies targeting more specific clinical questions.