the former are as relevant to health and nutrition as the latter.Although the old stereotypes of 'generation gaps'and'identity crises'need to be revisited,adolescence nonetheless operates a transition towards greater autonomy from parents and their values,and a progressively more central role of peers as role models,advisors,friends,and determinants of interests and values(Shepherd and Dennison,1996; Mays and Orr,1996).A now-dominant thinking is that most adolescents negotiate this transition without major disruptions or high risk behaviours,strengthening their own identity while maintaining their relationships with parents,and building new extra-familial relationships and skills(Offer 1987).Based on a review of international surveys of youth for the Lisbon Conference of 1998,Richard and Braungart! support this view,and contend that young people in general do not regard themselves as alienated, rebellious or antagonistic towards their families and adults.The majority of young people express positive views about themselves and their life situation,although a growing number do admit to some risky, experimental behaviours.Only a minority are involved in serious problems such as drug abuse,gangs and crime,and teenage pregnancy.They express the need for opportunities to develop a sense of independence,competence and participation in society.It is interesting that the 1996 study on 25,000 middle-class high-school students aged 15-18 years on five continents found them to be more similar than different in their values and concerns.According to this report',growing up in a developed or advanced nation today does not mean that youth problems are minimized.A gender gap seems to exist irrespective of the setting,in that boys express greater self-confidence,less vulnerability,and more happiness,pride and a subjective sense of well-being than girls.Conversely,adolescent girls have a higher self and body awareness than boys,and they tend to be less satisfied not only with their body,but also their appearance,their health,their personality (Cordonnier 1995).While young girls from western nations are more exposed to problems such as eating disorders,young women from developing countries are apparently at higher risk for suicide.A majority of adolescents think they are in good health,and they tend to feel invulnerable,with little motivation to protect their health"capital"for the future.This has a direct bearing on health promotion strategies. 1.2 Increasing focus on adolescent health and well-being The sheer number and demographic weight of youth(or adolescents)gives them importance,even more so in developing countries,with a typically younger population,and as a result of the drop in under-five mortality.The future economic development of poorer countries rests in large part on the prospect of having increasing proportions of the future adults who are educated,healthy and economically productive.There is an important interaction between economic opportunity and attitudes of the youth as pertinently noted by Burt (1996).If there is little realistic hope of getting ahead economically, adolescents may have little incentive to invest in education and to stay away from health-threatening activities or behaviours.Conversely,without the prospect of a qualified,healthy and productive workforce, potential investors may be reluctant to commit to economic development.There are substantial costs to governments,societies and individuals for every failure of youth to reach adulthood alive,healthy,well educated and without dependants for whom they cannot care.When advocating investment in adolescents,it is important to consider specific cultural values,and to identify the most valued as well as the least wanted personal and societal outcomes. The UNICEF Executive Director stated in a keynote address2 that adolescents hold the key to the 21" century,insisting on the remarkable extent to which participating adolescents are a positive force for needed social change: "There are one billion adolescents world-wide,and how effectively they cope with the perils of growing up will be a crucial element in whether humanity can surmount the challenge of the next Century. Assuring young people's right to health and development is central to preventing immediate threats and a host of later problems that can threaten not only their lives,but their children's" Web site:www.un.org/events/youth98/backinfo/yreport.html,18/04/99 2 Web site:www.uniceforg/newsline/99pr6.htm,16/04/992/ 1 Web site: www.un.org/events/youth98/backinfo/yreport.html, 18/04/99 2 Web site: www.unicef.org/newsline/99pr6.htm, 16/04/99 the former are as relevant to health and nutrition as the latter. Although the old stereotypes of ‘generation gaps’ and ‘identity crises’ need to be revisited, adolescence nonetheless operates a transition towards greater autonomy from parents and their values, and a progressively more central role of peers as role models, advisors, friends, and determinants of interests and values (Shepherd and Dennison, 1996; Mays and Orr, 1996). A now-dominant thinking is that most adolescents negotiate this transition without major disruptions or high risk behaviours, strengthening their own identity while maintaining their relationships with parents, and building new extra-familial relationships and skills (Offer 1987). Based on a review of international surveys of youth for the Lisbon Conference of 1998, Richard and Braungart1 support this view, and contend that young people in general do not regard themselves as alienated, rebellious or antagonistic towards their families and adults. The majority of young people express positive views about themselves and their life situation, although a growing number do admit to some risky, experimental behaviours. Only a minority are involved in serious problems such as drug abuse, gangs and crime, and teenage pregnancy. They express the need for opportunities to develop a sense of independence, competence and participation in society. It is interesting that the 1996 study on 25,000 middle-class high-school students aged 15-18 years on five continents found them to be more similar than different in their values and concerns. According to this report1 , growing up in a developed or advanced nation today does not mean that youth problems are minimized. A gender gap seems to exist irrespective of the setting, in that boys express greater self-confidence, less vulnerability, and more happiness, pride and a subjective sense of well-being than girls. Conversely, adolescent girls have a higher self and body awareness than boys, and they tend to be less satisfied not only with their body, but also their appearance, their health, their personality (Cordonnier 1995). While young girls from western nations are more exposed to problems such as eating disorders, young women from developing countries are apparently at higher risk for suicide. A majority of adolescents think they are in good health, and they tend to feel invulnerable, with little motivation to protect their health “capital” for the future. This has a direct bearing on health promotion strategies. 1.2 Increasing focus on adolescent health and well-being The sheer number and demographic weight of youth (or adolescents) gives them importance, even more so in developing countries, with a typically younger population, and as a result of the drop in under-five mortality. The future economic development of poorer countries rests in large part on the prospect of having increasing proportions of the future adults who are educated, healthy and economically productive. There is an important interaction between economic opportunity and attitudes of the youth as pertinently noted by Burt (1996). If there is little realistic hope of getting ahead economically, adolescents may have little incentive to invest in education and to stay away from health-threatening activities or behaviours. Conversely, without the prospect of a qualified, healthy and productive workforce, potential investors may be reluctant to commit to economic development. There are substantial costs to governments, societies and individuals for every failure of youth to reach adulthood alive, healthy, well educated and without dependants for whom they cannot care. When advocating investment in adolescents, it is important to consider specific cultural values, and to identify the most valued as well as the least wanted personal and societal outcomes. The UNICEF Executive Director stated in a keynote address2 that adolescents hold the key to the 21st century, insisting on the remarkable extent to which participating adolescents are a positive force for needed social change: “There are one billion adolescents world-wide, and how effectively they cope with the perils of growing up will be a crucial element in whether humanity can surmount the challenge of the next Century. [...] Assuring young people’s right to health and development is central to preventing immediate threats and a host of later problems that can threaten not only their lives, but their children’s