Health and nutrition in adolescents and young women: Preparing for the next generation

Adolescent health and nutrition receives low attention in developing countries because of the relatively low morbidity and mortality rates. Currently, there are over 1.2 billion adolescents and 90 per cent of them live in developing countries. It is estimated that the adolescent population will increase to 1.3 billion by 2030; of these, 500 million will be girls in the age group 10-17 yr. Nearly 16 million adolescent girls give birth every year; most of these girls live in developing countries and are married. There are ongoing efforts to improve obstetric care to these high risk pregnant adolescents. Despite this, prevalence of morbidity, obstetric problems, perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality rates are higher in these girls. Early age at menarche, increased sexual activity in teenage, rising obesity rate and its adverse health and reproductive consequences are some of the problems in adolescent girls which need urgent attention.