Early Obesity Linked to Severe Obesity Later in Life

Using data from the 1999-2010 U.S. NHANES survey, researchers found that men who were obese at age 25 had a 23.1% estimated probability of class III obesity (defined as a BMI greater than 40) after age 35, while men of a normal weight at age 25 only had a 1.1% chance of severe obesity after age 35. For women, the statistics were even more dramatic with the likelihood of class III obesity jumping to 46.9% if obese at age 25, compared to just 4.8% for those at a normal weight. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 46, Issue 6 (June 2014), DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.01.016