Does Obesity in Women during Adolescence Increase the Risk for Premature Death?
Researchers think that obesity during childhood and adolescence may have many bad consequences. Previous studies have suggested that obese adolescents may be at increased risk for premature death when compared with those who maintained a normal weight during that period of their lives. The problem is that previous studies regarding obesity during childhood and adolescence were done a long time ago when medical care was less sophisticated. In addition, many of the persons who took part in these studies eventually became cigarette smokers, which may have affected their life span. In view of the fact that public health and medical care have improved since the earlier studies, and because the results may have been affected by factors other than obesity, current researchers are concerned that the old data may be invalid.
