Obesity is a multifaceted chronic condition with several contributing causes, including biological risk factors, socioeconomic status, health literacy, and numerous environmental influences. Of particular concern are the increasing rates of obesity in children and adolescents, as rates of obesity in youth in the United States have tripled within the last three decades. Youth from historically disadvantaged backgrounds tend to have higher rates of obesity compared to other groups. Adolescents often do not meet intake recommendations for certain food groups and nutrients, which may contribute to a heightened risk of obesity. With obesity disproportionately affecting adolescents (ages 12–19 years), negative effects of excess adiposity may be particularly salient during this critical period of development. The presentation of chronic cardiometabolic disease symptoms typically observed in adults, such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and inflammation, are becoming increasingly common in adolescents with obesity. Additionally, there is dynamic interplay between obesity and psychosocial health, as adolescents with obesity may have increased levels of stress, depressive symptoms, and reduced resilience. To reduce and prevent adolescent obesity, the implementation of theory-driven multicomponent school- and community-based interventions have been suggested. These interventions promote knowledge and self-efficacy for healthful practices that have the potential to progress to sustained behavior change.

Energy drinks are beverages marketed to quickly increase alertness and performance of the consumer that typically contain relatively high quantities of caffeine, simple carbohydrates, and a mixture of additional ingredients. The carbohydrate sources, usually glucose and sucrose, found in the beverages supply the substrates needed for physiological energy, while the high caffeine content supplies the perceived energy through enhancing feelings of alertness during fatigued states. Although mean youth caffeine consumption as a whole has decreased over the past 2 decades, adolescent energy drink consumption has significantly increased in the past 10 years. High energy drink consumption of youth is concerning due to the range of reported adverse reactions attributed to excessive caffeine consumption, ranging from mild sleep disturbances to death. Reactions are severe enough to require reporting to the National Poison Data System and may even require emergency medical treatment. Studies have also shown that adolescents who consume energy drinks are likely to also use tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. There is substantial evidence to suggest that the risk energy drinks pose to health are incredibly hazardous and should not be consumed by children and adolescents.

Adolescent obesity and poor diet quality are increasingly prevalent and could be mitigated with attainment of food literacy. However, as these programs for adolescents are lacking, the purpose of this project was to develop a food literacy curriculum for high school-aged adolescents. The curriculum was designed in accordance with food literacy attributes and components utilizing Backward Design, Social Cognitive Theory, and Constructivism. After expert committee review, pilot testing was completed in two low-income communities by a trained facilitator and observer. Detailed observations were collected during pilot testing to assess achievement of learning objectives. Modifications were made to lesson procedures as required. The resulting curriculum, Teens CAN: Comprehensive Food Literacy in Cooking, Agriculture, and Nutrition, contains 12 modules of experiential lessons and application activities within three topics. Agriculture lessons concentrate on the food supply chain and food environments; nutrition lessons include food groups while focusing on nutrients of concern for underconsumption; and cooking lessons include food safety, budgeting, and preparation. Teens CAN provides a comprehensive and necessary approach to advancing food literacy in adolescents. Future directions include assessing dietary implications after participating in Teens CAN lessons and employment of an innovative two-tiered cross-age teaching model.

To use theoretical frameworks and a systematic process to develop a curriculum aimed at improving food literacy in high school-aged adolescents. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and constructivism were selected as guiding theoretical frameworks. Three overarching topics were identified as essential to advancing food literacy: agriculture, nutrition, and cooking. One nutrition researcher, one agriculture/food systems researcher, and one professional chef collaborated as topic experts. Thirteen undergraduate interns majoring in related subjects were recruited to draft lessons. The development team met weekly over 9 months. The first meeting consisted of introducing interns to food literacy, adolescent development, and curriculum development processes. Utilizing backward design, the team began by identifying lesson objectives relevant to high school-aged adolescents for each topic. Next the team determined acceptable evidence of learning for each objective using authentic assessment. Finally, interns created an activity for each objective and assessment pairing. The pedagogical approach for the activities was guided inquiry following the 5-step experiential cycle. Once lessons were drafted, weekly meetings were used for internally pilot-testing lessons and group discussions. Utilizing SCT, constructivism, and backward design resulted in the development of Teens CAN: Comprehensive Food Literacy in Cooking, Agriculture, and Nutrition. Teens CAN features twelve inquiry-based and experiential modules with the overarching topics of agriculture, nutrition, and cooking. The modules feature concept-based experiential and application activities. Agriculture concepts include technology innovations, agroecology, and the food environment. Nutrition concepts cover general nutrition, nutrients of concern for adolescents, and recommendations. Cooking concepts feature food safety, food resource management, and cooking techniques. Teens CAN fills a need for comprehensive food literacy curricula for high school-aged adolescents. After formal testing, the curriculum can be implemented in various learning environments, such as informally in after-school programs or integrated into formal education. UC ANR and USDA NIFA.

One approach that has been successful at improving youth health outcomes is the Shaping Healthy Choices Program, which features garden- and cooking-demonstration-based nutrition education curricula. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of implementing Shaping Healthy Choices Program curricula in 4-H using a teenagers as cross-age teachers approach. A teenagers as cross-age teachers model was employed to educate younger youth using the evidence-based curricula in 2 projects, each lasting 6 months over a 2-year period. Teenage teachers completed an initial 2-day training and reflection-on-action discussions following each educational session. Fidelity observations were collected to assess how well the curricula were delivered by teenage teachers. With a goal of 80%, overall fidelity was low (45%) and teenage teachers were able to deliver only the procedure component of the lessons with adequate average fidelity (84.6%). Poor participant attendance hindered presentation of additional data. Findings from this study suggest a need for more extensive and specific training for teenage teachers to implement the Shaping Healthy Choices Program.

Undergraduate learners are ideal candidates for participation in service-learning projects, which allow learners to apply course concepts in a community setting where both the university and community benefit. In pre-health fields, undergraduate students can serve as teachers for concepts such as food literacy. This study examined whether a rigorous virtual professional development model would improve self-efficacy of undergraduate participants to teach food literacy to adolescents. A purposive sampling of participants (n = 12) from two universities participated in a yearlong virtual service-learning project and a community of practice professional development model. Tasks included virtual lesson modeling and virtual development of short, learner-centered activities for an adolescent food literacy curriculum. Informal interviews were conducted at the end of the academic year. Participants reported that the virtual service-learning project connected to their coursework, improved their confidence and professional communication, and was a safe space for growing their teaching practice. Findings were not generalizable due to the small n and purposive sampling, and participants were unable to teach adolescents during the pandemic. The service-learning project may be transferable to local health departments as there is a demonstrated need of alternative implementation models for health education interventions.