Young people have called on health leaders to involve them in creating policies to improve their age group's wellbeing.

A group of 15 teenagers from across Hampshire made the plea at a Youth Assembly event.

The teenagers, from the Young Research Training Programme (YRTP) at the University of Southampton, believe that involving young people in health and social care issues will lead to positive changes.

During the assembly, the teenagers presented 12 policy recommendations based on their own research to about 90 professionals from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight's Integrated Care Board and other health stakeholders.

Their proposals include expanding extracurricular wellness activities, proactively responding to vaping, encouraging mixed teaching of sexual and reproductive education, and producing youth-led marketing of health programmes.

Talitha McCleery, 17, took part in the programme and said: "Young people want to and deserve to be, involved in decisions that impact their health and futures. We believe that the people who sit in positions of power must prioritise consulting with young people if they want their decisions to have real change and make a positive impact."

Libby Tickner, 17, who also took part, added: "We must all work together - school boards, local government, local charities and national non-governmental organisations - to ensure no opportunity is left wasted."

The YRTP, in association with the University of Southampton's LifeLab, aims to develop research and advocacy skills in young people, equipping them with tools to support their academic and employment journeys and beyond.

The programme focused on identifying and researching issues that mattered most to the participants and their peers, and then presenting these to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board as opportunities for improving youth health and wellbeing.

The teenagers worked with community groups and health and social scientists and used different research techniques, including focus groups, surveys, and secondary data analysis.

At a special three-day workshop in the summer, called The Youth Jury, the group refined the priorities and produced a set of policy recommendations to improve young people's health and wellbeing, which were then presented at the Youth Assembly.