Improve the healthy development, health, safety, and well-being of adolescents and young adults.
Overview
Adolescents (ages 10 to 19) and young adults (ages 20 to 24) make up 21 percent of the population of the United States.1 The behavioral patterns established during these developmental periods help determine young people's current health status and their risk for developing chronic diseases in adulthood.2
Although adolescence and young adulthood are generally healthy times of life, several important public health and social problems either peak or start during these years. Examples include: