Adolescent and young adult medicine in Australia and New Zealand: towards specialist accreditation.

In Australia and New Zealand, a critical mass of academic and clinical leadership in Adolescent Medicine has helped advance models of clinical services, drive investments in teaching and training, and strengthen research capacity over the past 30 years. There is growing recognition of the importance of influencing the training of adult physicians as well as paediatricians. The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is responsible for overseeing all aspects of specialist physician training across the two countries. Following advocacy from adolescent physicians, the RACP is advancing a three-tier strategy to build greater specialist capacity and sustain leadership in adolescent and young adult medicine (AYAM). The first tier of the strategy supports universal training in adolescent and young adult health and medicine for all basic trainees in paediatric and adult medicine through an online training resource. The second and third tiers support advanced training in AYAM for specialist practice, based on an advanced training curriculum that has been approved by the RACP. The second tier is dual training; advanced trainees can undertake 2 years training in AYAM and 2 years training in another area of specialist practice. The third tier consists of 3 years of advanced training in AYAM. The RACP is currently seeking formal recognition from the Australian Government to have AYAM accredited, a process that will be subsequently undertaken in New Zealand. The RACP is expectant that the accreditation of specialist AYAM physicians will promote sustained academic and clinical leadership in AYAM to the benefit of future generations of young Australasians.

Prevalence of weight-related concerns and behaviours among New Zealand young people.

AIM: The study aims to describe the prevalence of weight loss behaviours and weight-related concerns among a nationally representative sample of adolescents in New Zealand. METHODS: Data for this study were collected as part of Youth'07, a nationally representative survey of the health and well-being of 9107 secondary school students in New Zealand. RESULTS: More than one third of males and 65% of females tried to lose weight in the past year. Approximately 10% of males and 29% of females reported using at least one of the unhealthy weight control behaviours in the past year (fasted, skipped meals, smoked, vomited, diet pills). Among females and males, using unhealthy weight control behaviours was most prevalent among those who were older, overweight and lived in high-deprivation areas. CONCLUSION: Unhealthy weight control behaviours among New Zealand adolescents are common and warrant future research and discussion to understand why so many young people use unhealthy weight loss strategies.