Body mass index from young adolescence to adulthood: a 20 year follow-up

Lake, Amelia, Craigie, Angela, Gibbons, M. R. D., Adamson, Ashley and Rugg-Gunn, Andrew (2001) Body mass index from young adolescence to adulthood: a 20 year follow-up. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 60 (4B). 171A-237A. ISSN 0029-6651

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Abstract

The UK is facing an obesity epidemic with reported figures of 17.3% for men and 21.2% for women (Department of Health, 1998). Even in childhood obesity is a prevalent condition and has been associated with an increased risk of obesity in adulthood (Kolata, 1986). It has been observed that most adult obesity treatment programmes only result in small reductions in weight which are not often maintained (Guo et al, 2000). In strategies to reduce obesity incidence it may be more advantageous to identify high-risk individuals at an early age and begin prevention in childhood rather than rely on weight management in adulthood. Previous studies have indicated that BMI in childhood has a stronger effect on adult BMI than birth weight and adult lifestyle factors (Guo et al, 2000). It is therefore essential to find out how stable relative adiposity is through the transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood and from what age the onset of adult obesity may be most accurately predicted.

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