Weight gain does not wait: find out the age your obesity risk is highest

Most of us think that middle-age is when your body becomes more prone to accumulating those extra kilos. But researchers now claim that your risk for weight gain begins much earlier.

According to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, young adults aged 18 to 24 years are at the highest risk of becoming overweight or developing obesity in the next decade of their life compared to adults in any other age group.

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The team’s findings also suggest that people aged between 35 and 54 years had the highest risk of not losing weight compared to other adults.

What’s more, just being a young adult was found to be a bigger risk factor for obesity than sex, ethnicity, geographic region, or socioeconomic characteristics. The study assessing health records of over 2 million adults says the risk for weight gain isn’t just highest for youngsters, it steadily decreases with age as well.

Young adults classified as overweight were also more likely to move to a higher BMI category than any other age group. In particular, the risk was four to six times higher for 18–24-year-olds in comparison to the oldest or the 65-74 age group.

The research team attributes big life changes such as first jobs, university or moving to new cities as possible reasons for young adults being at high risk for obesity. Habits formed in these years may stick through adulthood, the team explained.

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