Obesity in late adolescence can increase the risks of death from stroke and heart disease as well as sudden death in midlife, a new research found.
A study team analyzed the data of 2.3 million 17-year-olds in Israel. The team measured the weight and height variations of these teenagers between the years 1967 and 2010.
In mid-2011, they studied the link between late adolescence body-mass index (BMI) and the mortality risks associated with stroke and coronary heart disease in adulthood.
Out of 32,127 deaths, 2,918 deaths (9.1 percent) were linked to cardiovascular causes. Specifically, 1,497 died from coronary heart disease, 893 died from sudden death and 528 died from stroke.
"The continuing increase in adolescent BMI, and the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents, may account for a substantial and growing future burden of cardiovascular disease, particularly coronary heart disease," said the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Jeremy Kark, the study's senior author.
The research team came up with two possible explanations how BMI influences the outcomes of cardiovascular disease in midlife.
First, teenage obesity may be harmful because of its link with metabolic abnormalities. Some of the risk factors in this stage include high blood pressure, reduced metabolism of glucose, resistance to insulin and the buildup of aortic atherosclerotic and coronary plaques.
Second, the researchers found that BMI appears to "track along the life course." The timing of the obesity exposure seemed to be a vital player as well. This means that overweight teenagers often end up as obese adults.
Later in life, obesity increases the risks of developing cardiovascular diseases.
In the course of the more than 40-year follow-up, the team found that even teenage BMI that was deemed "normal" was linked to a "graded increase" in all-cause mortality as well as in the development of cardiovascular diseases.
"Our findings appear to provide a link between the trends in adolescent overweight during the past decades and coronary mortality in midlife," added Kark.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises the inclusion of healthy eating habits and activities that can prevent obesity early in life. The CDC also echoed the same findings wherein obese children or teenagers are more likely to end up as obese or overweight adults.
Apart from cardiovascular problems, obese people can also suffer from high risks of osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes and specific cancers.
The research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 13. The Environment and Health Fund in Jerusalem supported the study through a research grant.
Photo: Ben Seidelman | Flickr
