Young adulthood is a time when most people are less concerned about their weight. Their metabolisms are still relatively fast, they may be more active, and they haven’t encountered physical problems that prevent them from getting regular exercise. Yet obesity is a problem for young adults just as much as their elders, and researchers have found that it may be hurting them in more than just the mirror; a high body mass index raises an individual’s chance of dying early by 21%, while those who maintain healthy weights at age 25 are more likely to live longer and healthier lives.
A new study took into account the activity levels of 25 year olds, as well as their smoking and alcohol consumption, the researchers found that being overweight was linked to a 28% higher chance of dying at a younger age.
The study shows that young adults should be mindful of their health, as they may be setting themselves up for unnecessary future complications if they don’t manage things like their diet, level of exercise, and consumption of drugs. Waiting until their later years to lose weight could ”translate into a shorter lifespan for many Americans”, according to June Stevens, Ph.D., lead author of the study. The study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health and highlights the importance of health education among people of all ages, even in young adulthood when many people feel that they have their lives ahead of them to get into shape and live a healthy lifestyle.
Stevens is a nutrition and epidemiology professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Not only has it been proven that being overweight at a young age is detrimental to future health, but according to Stevens, the problem isn’t getting any better. Young adults are “so much heavier now than they were 20 years ago,” she says.
“You can’t just make up for it by losing weight later,” Stevens continues. “You need to be concerned about your BMI throughout your young adulthood.”
The study showed that higher BMI early in life was a risk factor for an earlier death for across all races except for African-American men. The researchers weren’t sure why the findings of the study didn’t hold true for this group.
The study found that African-American women who were overweight in young adulthood had the largest increase in risk of dying early, compared to white women and with men compared to women.
The study showed that while young adults may be more concerned with beginning new lives, attending college, or starting a new career, it’s important that they manage their health as well.
BMI, or body mass index, is a measure of a person’s weight as it relates to his height. The metric looks at these factors and produces a number that falls within a range of underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. The system was popularized in the 1970s by Ancel Keyes, though it was developed in the 19th century by Adolphe Quetelet.
The BMI scale has come under criticism for the fact that it was never intended to measure the health levels of individuals, but rather to obtain a general idea of the “fatness” or “thinness” of a large population. Since the scale does not measure actual body fat levels, those who are uncharacteristically high will report higher BMI levels than their body fat percentage would suggest; similarly, the scale does not take into account the ratio of lean tissue to adipose tissue present in the individual’s body.
