Obesity at age 18, death in middle age

Women who are overweight or obese at 18 are at a greater risk of dying in middle age than women who stay at a healthy weight in their teens, a study finds.

Scientists at Harvard School of Public Health examined the health habits and medical records of more than 100,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing federally financed study of women's health problems.

In 1989, the participants, ages 24 to 44, reported their weight and height and also their weight at age 18. Over the next 12 years, 710 of the women died.

Researchers, reporting in today's Annals of Internal Medicine, found that in evaluating the deaths, it became apparent that women who were overweight or obese at 18 were more likely to die in middle age. The heavier the woman, the greater her risk of dying early.

The most common medical cause of death was cancer (including breast, colon, endometrial and kidney cancer), followed by heart disease.

Overweight young women were more likely to consume more alcohol and smoke, and were less likely to exercise, the study found. Those who weighed too much ... // 50% Remaining