Puberty is the time when changes in boys and girls gradually take them into adulthood. These changes used to begin around the age of 14 years. Today, for a variety of reasons including our much richer diets, the age has come down by 3-4 years. Transformations that begin with puberty continue until around 19 years. Many are starting to believe that this age, also called adolescence, should be extended by a few years and that adolescence should include a period that goes roughly from 10 years of age to 24 years. Supporters of this proposal say that from the biological point of view the brain continues to mature well after the age of 19 years, that wisdom teeth often appear after the age of 20 years and sometimes youngsters continue growing a couple of centimeters. Also, from the social standpoint the average age at which people get married is about 8 years later than 50 years ago and most youngsters don’t leave home before the age of 25 years. Furthermore, even if legally speaking one becomes an adult at 18 years, many of the responsibilities and roles of adulthood come later. For example, university studies go on until later and children are usually born much later and in the meanwhile most people live a life of semi independence. A broader definition of adolescence has implications such as for the social services that would have to extend their period of coverage with the relative additional costs. Many do not agree with this proposal of adding a few years to adolescence. They say that becoming an adult largely has to do with what a society asks its citizens. Lengthening adolescence means artificially delaying the time when people take on responsibility for themselves ultimately reducing their range of choices. A woman’s fertility progressively falls after 30-32 years of age. If a society promotes ideals that delay the formation of families, it also reduces birth rate, even if children do not necessarily have to be born in classic families. Still other researchers say that adolescence is alright as it is, but that we should add a new category for the 19-24-year olds called Pre-Adults.