Adolescent BMI Trajectory and Risk of Diabetes versus Coronary Disease

This study followed healthy young men, with repeated measures of height and weight over a mean of 17.4 years. Elevated BMI in adolescence, even within the normal range, was found to be a substantial risk factor for later obesity-related disorders, including type 2 diabetes and CHD. Although obesity in adulthood is a well-documented risk factor for both type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, it remains unclear whether a longer history of relative overweight, starting earlier in life, poses an additional risk. Furthermore, whereas the trajectory of weight and height from birth to adolescence is well documented, the progression of body-mass index (BMI) from adolescence into adulthood is less well described. Obese children probably have higher odds of becoming obese adults. 1 Moreover, although an elevated BMI in childhood or adolescence may not necessarily represent adiposity, 2 – 4 childhood obesity is associated with classic cardiometabolic risk factors, as . . .