Childhood Adiposity, Adult Adiposity, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 365; no. 20; pp. 1876 - 1885
• Main Authors: Juonala, Markus, Magnussen, Costan G, Berenson, Gerald S, Venn, Alison, Burns, Trudy L, Sabin, Matthew A, Srinivasan, Sathanur R, Daniels, Stephen R, Davis, Patricia H, Chen, Wei, Sun, Cong, Cheung, Michael, Viikari, Jorma S.A, Dwyer, Terence, Raitakari, Olli T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waltham, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 17.11.2011
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Arteriosclerosis; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Body weight; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Carotid Arteries - pathology; Carotid artery; Child; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Children; Cholesterol; Cohort Studies; Data processing; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - etiology; Dyslipidemia; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia - etiology; Hypertension; Hypertension - etiology; Hypertriglyceridemia - etiology; Male; Medical sciences; Obesity; Obesity - classification; Obesity - complications; Overweight; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk Factors; Veins & arteries; United States > US; Human; Medicine; Adipose tissue; Adiposity; Risk factor; Cardiovascular risk; Adult; Cardiovascular disease; Child; Epidemiology
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1010112

In four prospective cohort studies, obese adults who were overweight or obese in childhood had increased rates of cardiovascular risk factors. Those who were overweight or obese as children but not as adults had risks similar to the risks among those who were never obese. During the past three decades, the prevalences of overweight and obesity in the pediatric population have increased substantially. 1 Childhood obesity is a predictor of an increased rate of death, owing primarily to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 2 – 4 Forecasts suggest that the “obesity epidemic” may reverse the current trend of the declining rate of death from cardiovascular causes, 5 leading to a shorter lifespan for today's children. 6 There is substantial evidence that the association between obesity and cardiovascular disease is explained by the adverse cardiovascular risk-factor profile that is frequently seen in obese adults. This profile includes increased rates of . . .