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Posted on May 21, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Adolescents classed as overweight could be at an increased risk of dying from a chronic disease later on in life, a new study has suggested.
Adolescents classed as overweight could be at an increased risk of dying from a chronic disease later on in life, a new study has suggested.
Research carried out by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) found that overweight people between the ages of 14 and 19 had an increased mortality rate from certain diseases.
Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the investigation assessed the causes of death of 10,000 participants from a pool of almost 230,000 whose weight and height were measured during their adolescence.
The study found that risks of death from metabolic, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases were higher in individuals overweight in adolescence, and that they suffered more instances of sudden death.
"We found that increasing degrees of obesity among adolescents lead to an unfavorable development in the mortality rate from a range of significant causes of deaths," report author Professor Tone Bjorge.
A recent report published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggested that increased after-school activity in adolescent girls could not only reduce teen obesity but also into adulthood.
