Original articleOverweight and Obesity Between Adolescence and Young Adulthood: A 10-year Prospective Cohort Study
Section snippets
Sample
Between August 1992 and March 2003, we conducted an 8-wave cohort study of adolescent and young adult health in the state of Victoria, Australia. Data collection protocols were approved by The Royal Children's Hospital's Ethics in Human Research Committee. Informed consent was obtained from participating school organizations and parents. Further participant consent was obtained from those in the young adult waves. The cohort was initially defined with a two-stage cluster sample in which we
Results
The sex ratio of the cohort (males, 46%) was similar to that in Victorian schools at the time of sampling [19]. A total of 22% of the sample had parents who were separated or divorced, 24% grew up in a household speaking a language other than English, 12% were not born in Australia, and 74% attended a metropolitan school at study commencement. The highest level of parental education was incomplete secondary schooling (32%), complete secondary schooling, vocational diploma, or certificate (34%),
Discussion
Even in the context of rising obesity rates in childhood, there is a substantial change in the weight status between adolescence and young adulthood. The prevalence of overweight status (BMI ≥25) increased by 65% between mid-adolescence and the age of 24 years, and the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30) has almost doubled. Approximately two in five young adults with a BMI ≥25 had been persistently at normal weights during adolescence and four in five had been in the normal weight range at some
Acknowledgments
All the authors declare that the answer to the questions on your competing interest are all no.
Ethic approval by Ethics in Human Research Committee of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Australia.
The Corresponding Author has the right to grant on behalf of all authors and does grant on behalf of all authors, an exclusive license (or non exclusive for government employees) on a worldwide basis to the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and its Licensees to permit this article (if accepted) to be
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