Researchers in the US have shown that the body mass index (BMI) of teenagers could help predict their future risk of diabetes and heart disease due to levels of obesity .
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that a high BMI (but that still lies within the normal range) in a young adult is associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. However, those teenagers with a high BMI who then become thin as an adult can practically eliminate the predicted risk of developing diabetes because of obesity.
Amir Tirosh, lead author on the research, commented "Conversely, the risk of that person for heart disease will remain elevated compared to the lean teen who became a lean adult, though still will be lower than that of the heavier teen who became an obese adult."
The research monitored 37,000 teenage Israeli boys for an average of 17 years to examine how the BMI of adolescents can influence the chances of developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease in early to mid-adulthood.
The study advises that teenagers who are in the high but normal range should be doing something about their weight earlier despite not being recommended to do so by healthcare professionals . The team have still to explore whether the same results apply to teenage girls.
High BMI for teenagers linked to diabetes risk
Fri, 08 Apr 2011
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