In 2025, a review in PMC analyzed data from multiple studies, including the 2022 ABCD Study with 2,217 kids aged 9-10, using brain scans and behavior tests. It found excessive screen time, especially with reward-heavy games on devices like iPads, triggers dopamine overload, making kids crave instant gratification and struggle with everyday tasks. Kids with over 2 hours daily showed higher attention problems and depression scores, with brain scans revealing lower caudate nucleus activity (a reward area), hinting at addiction risks, and reduced prefrontal cortex function, linked to poor impulse control and increased aggression.

In 2025, Anam Farzand and a team from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin reviewed how food ads push junk food high in fat, sugar, and salt, influencing people to eat more unhealthy stuff. They looked at studies showing kids see 4,000 food ads a year, making them crave sweets and snacks, while low-income groups face 80% of ads for bad foods, leading to weight gain and health problems.

In 2025, Carina Venter and a team from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus studied 84 healthy infants. They randomly gave one group freeze-dried blueberry powder from 5-6 months old, mixed into food, while the control group got no blueberries. They tracked allergies like eczema or food reactions, immune markers in blood, and gut bacteria via stool samples over 6 months.

In 2025, M. Khanani and a team reviewed studies on how excessive screen time affects kids and teens. They found that spending too long on devices like phones, tablets, or TVs—especially since the COVID-19 pandemic—hurts physical, mental, and developmental health.

In 2025, Rachel V. Gow and team from the University of Roehampton studied 57 UK individuals (47 children, 10 adults) with ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions like autism. They measured blood levels of key nutrients (omega-3s, zinc, magnesium, B-vitamins, vitamin D) and correlated these with ADHD symptom severity using the Conners Parent Rating Scale.

A 2025 cohort study of 291 Canadian youths (ages 10–18) found that sleeping more than 9.9 hours per night in the first two weeks after a concussion was linked to more severe symptoms and a higher risk of lingering effects at four weeks.

A 2025 pooled cohort study involving 5,306 children from Australia, the U.S., and Canada, published in Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, found that exposure to plastic-derived chemicals before age 5—such as phthalates and BPA—was linked to significantly higher rates of asthma and wheezing in childhood.

A 2024 systematic review in BMC Public Health found that children with higher screen use were more likely to develop depressive symptoms later, especially between ages 9 to 12—or teens who spend much time on screens showing increased depression, anxiety, inattention, and aggression.

A 2025 gene-therapy study by Karolinska Institutet restored hearing in all 10 participants—children and adults with congenital OTOF-related deafness—within just one month of a single inner-ear injection.

A 2025 study by UC Davis analyzed 201 toddlers (ages 2–4) from four U.S. states and found 96 different chemicals in their urine—48 found in over half of the kids, 34 in more than 90%—many not even tracked by national surveys.

A 2025 review in Nutrients by Tur & González-Gross highlights how school environments—especially meals and physical activity programs—directly shape the long-term nutrition and fitness habits of children and adolescents.

A 2025 report from EAACI and EMJ highlights that kids with atopic (allergic) asthma are significantly more likely to have sensory-processing issues like trouble tuning out noise or handling light, or even touch.