Developing healthy, happy, and productive young adults: The North Carolina Metamorphosis Project and the NCIOM Task Force on Adolescent Health.

ISSUE BRIEF T he health and well-being of adolescents has a tremendous impact on the overall health of North Carolinians: the youths of today are tomorrow's workforce, parents, teachers, and leaders. Ensuring that youths find a way to successfully navigate adolescence is of critical importance not only to their health and well-being but also to the economic growth of our state. Unfortunately, data show that far too many of our youths are not as healthy as they could be. For example, a survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over one-half of high school students were not as physically active as they should be, over one-third used alcohol in the past 30 days, and approximately one-fifth felt they were " alone in life. " 1 Although North Carolina has a long history of investing in the health and well-being of its children, less has been done to ensure that its adolescents develop into healthy, productive adults. recognized the need for a more coordinated plan to address the health and well-being of adolescents. With funding from The Duke Endowment, NC MARCH created the North Carolina Metamorphosis Project (NCMP) to study ways to improve the health and well-being of the state's adolescent population. The NCMP is a collaborative effort by the