Obesity in Teens Predicts Adult Mortality

Abstract

Epidemiology| August 01 2003 Obesity in Teens Predicts Adult Mortality AAP Grand Rounds (2003) 10 (2): 16. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.10-2-16 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Obesity in Teens Predicts Adult Mortality. AAP Grand Rounds August 2003; 10 (2): 16. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.10-2-16 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All PublicationsAll JournalsAAP Grand RoundsPediatricsHospital PediatricsPediatrics In ReviewNeoReviewsAAP NewsAll AAP Sites Search Advanced Search Topics: obesity Source: Engeland A, Bjørge T, Søgaard AJ, et al. Body mass index in adolescence in relation to total mortality: 32-year follow-up of 227,000 Norwegian boys and girls. Am J Epidemiol. 2003; 157:517–523. The relation between adult body mass index (BMI) and mortality has been extensively studied, but the relation between adolescent BMI and later mortality has not been previously established in a large population. These investigators from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway, followed a cohort of 227,003 14- to 19-year-old Norwegian youth whose heights and weights were measured during tuberculosis screening in 1963–1975. They were followed for an average of 31.5 years, approximately 7.2 million person-years. A total of 7,516 deaths were recorded, with an increasing risk of death in adolescents whose BMI levels were greater than the 75th percentile. Mortality in males with baseline BMI between 85th-95th percentiles and above the 95th percentile (using US norms) was higher (RR 1.29; 95% CI, 1.14–1.47; and RR 1.82; 95% CI, 1.48–2.25, respectively) compared with those with baseline BMI between 25th-75th percentiles. The corresponding risk ratios among females were 1.31 (95% CI, 1.14–1.52) and 2.03 (95% CI, 1.51–2.72), respectively. Males with baseline BMI of 30 or greater had 125% higher mortality (95% CI, 79–185%) compared with BMI less than 25. Females with baseline BMI of 30 or greater had 114% higher mortality (95% CI, 61–182%). The specific causes of mortality were not determined in these data. The excess mortality among adolescents with high BMI was not detectable before they reached the age of 30 years. This study adds more weight to the evidence of the adverse impact of childhood obesity on adult mortality. Similar long-term risk of mortality related to adolescent obesity was found in a Dutch study.1 The authors of the current study recognize that the lack of information on many potential confounders—including smoking, social class, and physical activity—as well as the lack of cause-specific mortality information, adds some uncertainty to the interpretation of their results. Nonetheless, the data from this study are of concern and should strengthen our resolve to find effective ways to prevent and treat obesity in children. Prevention seems of paramount importance since obesity is notoriously difficult to reverse in children and adolescents.2 The oldest person in this study was 58, so longer follow-up may reveal even more about the long-term impact of adolescent obesity. This study adds to the list of potentially preventable adult diseases that have their origins in the pediatric age period including, among others, lung cancer, skin cancer, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis. You do not currently have access to this content.