While adolescents make up 24 per cent of the population (about two billion people), they receive just 2.4 per cent of global development and health funding, a new report has found.

The Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing, bringing together 44 Commissioners and 10 Youth Commissioners, has investigated the health and wellbeing challenges faced by the first generation of true digital natives – a group that will also live their entire lives under the shadow of climate change.

The researchers say by 2030, a billion teens will live in countries where they are at risk of poor health, with mental health problems and obesity linked to easy access to ultra-processed foods among the key health issues young people face today, while the rise of vaping threatens recent progress made on tobacco use.

The landmark report, by experts in adolescent health including from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), has revealed how supporting young people’s health and wellbeing could improve economic, social and public health for generations to come.

MCRI is the largest child health research institute in Australia committed to making discoveries and developing treatments to improve child and adolescent health in Australia and around the world.

Professor Peter Azzopardi, a researcher at MCRI, says there is a great need for targeted actions that focus on early intervention.

“Meaningful, evidence-based, multi-sector partnerships with young people will be the key to improving health and wellbeing,” Azzopardi, who has worked as a paediatrician in Australia (including in youth justice, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector, tertiary referral services, youth homeless services) and across health services in the Asia Pacific region, says.

“But we must remain accountable by ensuring that any progress is monitored closely and reported on regularly.

“As our population ages and fertility rates decline, the health of our adolescents becomes even more crucial.”

Researchers, including Professor Susan Sawyer, pictured above, say if current patterns continue, by 2050, 2.2 million Australian children and adolescents will be living with obesity. A further 1.6 million will be overweight.

The 2025 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing found investment in adolescents’ health and wellbeing doesn’t match the scale of the problems faced by young people.

The report found the ongoing challenges faced by this age group included high cases of poor mental health and limited support services, increasing rates of obesity due to complex environmental and commercial factors, a lack of digital safety and exposure to cyberbullying and misinformation, and many experiencing violence in conflict-affected areas and within the home.

Other challenges included ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures and widening gaps in reproductive rights, particularly for young women.

The report predicted that by 2050, 70 per cent of the world’s adolescents will be living in urban areas – but while this potentially brings benefits, it found rapid unplanned urbanisation may also accelerate poverty, isolation and insecure housing.

The report stated that urban, public spaces should be more amenable and tailored to young people, such as safe and engaging spaces to congregate, which would have a powerful effect on health outcomes.

It also found urgent action was required to better protect young people from violence and ensure equitable access to education and reproductive rights.

Almost half of adolescents have experienced violence, profoundly impacting their social and emotional development and wellbeing.

Whilst global efforts have largely closed the gender gap in high school education, by 2030, almost a third of young women will not be in post-secondary education, employment or training.

World renowned researcher Professor Susan Sawyer, also from MCRI, says partnerships with young people were a cornerstone of the report, which aimed to draw on their capability and leadership to help shape the world they wanted to live in.

“This report represents a wealth of current information about the state of our young people’s health,” the inaugural Chair of Adolescent Health, Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne and director of the Centre for Adolescent Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital, says.

“The findings are alarming and they demand urgent action and accountability, in collaboration with adolescents, to create safer spaces and meaningful change.”

But, Sawyer says, lack of national leadership around adolescent health remained a major barrier to overcoming the challenges.

“A common myth is that adolescents are healthy and therefore don’t need health services,” she says.

“Yet our findings show that in every country, adolescents need access to responsive health services that can confidentially identify and respond to their emerging health needs.”

Potential solutions and actions outlined included:

  • Advocating for change and amplifying the needs and voices of young people
  • Developing goal-centred approaches through the Office of the UN Secretary with a focus on measuring and improving adolescent health and wellbeing
  • Involving young people in community-based environmental programs
  • Scaling up public health programs that improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes and reduce gender-based violence
  • Strengthening actions within health and education sectors while reinforcing collaborations
  • Limiting the exposure of advertising targeting adolescents
  • Promoting and encouraging the healthy use of social media and online spaces

The report is being launched during the World Health Organization’s 78th Health Assembly in Geneva (May 19-27).

Click here to read ‘A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing’.