A co-created, global action-oriented framework for adolescent nutrition

Optimal nutrition during adolescence is fundamental for growth and development. Yet globally, adolescent populations have a triple burden of malnutrition: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight or obesity. Although several frameworks on adolescent nutrition exist, none include actions across programming, policy, research, and advocacy, and none included youth advocates during the design process or as end users. We-the Global Adolescent Nutrition Network and youth partners from Act4Food-aimed to develop a global framework to guide actions and investments to improve adolescent nutrition. The framework was co-created with youth partners and experts using an integrated knowledge translation approach, including stakeholder workshops and a stakeholder survey to assess its use and acceptability and to inform framework finalisation. In this Health Policy, we present a framework that recommends actions to improve adolescent nutrition across four levels: (1) adolescents; (2) households, peers, schools, and communities; (3) national systems; and (4) global systems and planetary health. These actions can be tailored to different contexts and support the work of donors, government ministries, policy makers, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, youth organisations, the private sector, civil society, and researchers. Key to this process was the contribution of young people to ground the framework in the experiences of adolescents and to enable agency and empower responsive change.