KnE Open Top Picks for April 2025
On April 30, 2025
As the pace of modern life accelerates, researchers are uncovering new ways to tackle challenges that affect our health, environment, and social well-being. This month’s roundup explores topics ranging from the mental health impacts of the pandemic to sustainable food innovations and smarter water reuse. Each study offers fresh perspectives on how we can build healthier communities, protect our planet, and navigate the complexities of a connected world.
Are Global Trends Impacting Teenagers’ Eating Habits?
Adolescence is a time of rapid growth and change, as young people navigate the complexities of physical development, emotional shifts, and evolving social identities. What and how they eat plays a crucial role in shaping their health and well-being during this pivotal decade. Yet, in an age of globalisation and modernisation, teenagers often find themselves caught between the allure of trendy, high-fat convenience foods and the comfort of traditional meals that reflect their cultural roots. Studies have sounded the alarm on rising consumption of saturated fats, declining fruit and vegetable intake, and the emergence of disordered eating patterns. To better understand these dynamics, researchers are turning to nutritional scores and diversity indices, which are tools that quantify the variety and quality of foods on a plate. Emerging evidence shows that greater dietary diversity supports healthier growth, improved status, and stronger links to sociocultural factors.
A new study from Algeria explores teens’ eating habits and how they stack up when measured against these diversity benchmarks.
How Has the Pandemic Reshaped Our Mental Health?
The COVID-19 pandemic changed life across the globe, shutting schools, businesses, and borders, forcing unprecedented social distancing measures. Almost overnight, daily routines vanished, social networks were disrupted, and uncertainty became the new normal. These drastic changes, combined with the fear of illness and loss, took a serious toll on everyone’s mental health. While older adults faced health vulnerabilities, younger people grappled with disrupted routines, remote learning, and social isolation, leading to spikes in anxiety, depression, and stress. In fact, studies found that younger people reported higher psychological burdens than their older counterparts, and infection fears further amplified these impacts.
One new study explores how the general population coped with pandemic-related stress and the positive strategies they used to stay resilient.
How Do Eating Habits Shape Healthy Pregnancy Weight Gain?
Pregnancy is a transformative journey that places new demands on a woman’s body, balancing the need to nourish both herself and her growing baby. Yet in an era of fast food and shifting dietary trends, staying on track with healthy eating can be a real challenge. Too much weight gain during pregnancy raises the risk of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and larger babies who may face obesity later in life, while too little can lead to low birth weight and other complications. Across the globe, nutritional guidelines emphasise the importance of a balanced diet rich in whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables, but how these recommendations play out in different cultural settings hasn’t been fully explored.
A new study from Iran explores how overall dietary patterns, rather than single nutrients, impact gestational weight gain.
Can Selfies on Social Media Fuel Narcissism?
In today’s hyper-connected world, platforms like Instagram and X have become theatrical stages where people showcase their lives and personalities. With easy-to-use filters, flashy edits, and the constant chase for likes and followers, it’s no wonder that posting selfies has turned into a modern ritual. But behind the perfectly curated feeds lies a deeper issue: the link between our online habits and mental health. Teens feeling lonely or struggling with self-control may turn to social media as a way to feel seen and validated, but this can sometimes backfire, promoting narcissistic tendencies instead of genuine connection.
A recent study explored how loneliness and self-control influence narcissism among teenage Instagram and X users.
Can Meat Alternatives Save the Planet and Our Conscience?
Our plates are at the centre of an environmental and ethical crossroads. Traditional meat production fuels deforestation, drains water resources, and contributes nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, all while raising serious animal welfare concerns. Enter meat alternatives. Plant-based and lab-grown meats are designed to mimic the taste and texture of real meat without the ecological toll or the need for animal-based protein. These innovations promise drastic reductions in land and water use, offering a more sustainable path for feeding a growing population.
A new study explores consumer attitudes towards meat alternatives by surveying a group of volunteers.
Could Shower Water Solve the World’s Water Crisis?
As populations grow and climate change intensifies, water scarcity is becoming one of the biggest challenges of our time. From water gardens to flushing toilets, our daily routines guzzle precious freshwater, even though a large portion of that water only needs to be “clean enough” rather than perfectly drinkable. Greywater reuse is a smart solution that taps into the 41—91% of domestic water used in showers, sinks, and laundry. By giving this gently used water a simple treatment, we can redirect it to non-potable tasks, saving both water and energy in the process.
A new study from Indonesia explores how greywater can be effectively managed and reused in sports centres.