Healthy Child, Healthy Adult—Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity as a Public Health Concern
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Exercise and Health-Related Quality of Life".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 35
Special Issue Editor
Interests: nutrition; physical activity; exercise and disease states; health and well-being; performance nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Childhood is generally considered a healthy period in a person’s life; however, lifestyles and behaviour established during childhood result in many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that may manifest in later life and are a public health issue. Many of these NCDs are the result of modifiable risk behaviours established during childhood, such as a low level of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, unhealthy dietary patterns, high ultra-processed food (UPD) intake and poor sleeping patterns. Investing in the health of the young and encouraging healthy living today will have benefits for individuals in the future and the health of the nation [1].
Over the past decade, and specifically since COVID-19, time spent sitting and reclining while expending little energy (eg, sedentary behaviour) and engagement in specific sedentary activities (eg, screen-based behaviours) have rapidly emerged as potential additional risk factors for children’s physical and mental well-being. Screen use has changed from TV to other screens; therefore, different metrics may need to be considered in order to assess sedentary behaviour [2].
Nutrition must also be considered when looking towards the long-term health of children. Specific nutrients and food groups have long been established as purveyors of good health; however, the current generation of young people will be the first to have had such a great influence from dietary considerations such as ultra-processed foods (UPFs). In recent decades, a nutrition transition has resulted in a global shift away from consuming minimally processed foods and towards ultra-processed alternatives, away from home-prepared dishes and ready-to-eat meals and snacks [3]. This same period has seen a rapid rise in the global prevalence of NCDs in children and adults.
This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of children’s physical activity and nutrition, with regard to current and long term health issues and NCDs as a public health concern and the consequences for individuals. New research papers, reviews, case reports and conference papers are welcome to this Special Issue. Other manuscript types accepted include methodological papers, position papers, brief reports and commentaries.
References
- Lee, I.M.; Shiroma, E.J.; Lobelo, F.; Puska, P.; Blair, S.N.; Katzmarzyk, P.T. Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: An analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet 2012, 380, 219–229.
- Carson, V.; Hunter, S.; Kuzik, N.; Gray, C.E.; Poitras, V.J.; Chaput, J.P.; Saunders, T.J.; Katzmarzyk, P.T.; Okely, A.D.; Gorber, S.C. et al. Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth: An update. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016; 41, 240–265.
- Popkin, B.M.; Adair, L.S.; Ng, S.W. The Global Nutrition Transition: The Pandemic of Obesity in Developing Countries. Rev. 2012, 70, 3–21
Dr. Lindsy Kass
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- children
- physical activity
- nutrition
- sedentary behaviour
- UPFs
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