Study: Children Tall for Their Age More Likely to Be Obese as Adults

Young children who are tall for their age are more likely to become obese as adults, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers speculate that the reason for the increased risk may be related to maturity rates, according to their report in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers studied a group of 1,055 children who were enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study, an ongoing project to study heart disease risk factors in children and young adults in Louisiana. Researchers examined the children between the ages of 2 and 8 and again after they were adults.

Above average height in childhood was found to predispose people to obesity as adults. Compared with children who were below average in height, children who were the tallest were 2.5 times more likely to be obese adults, reported the researchers.

Children who were the tallest were five times more likely to have a triceps skin-fold thickness measurement that indicated excessive body fat as adults.

Overweight children were also more likely to become obese adults, as expected.

"Although the results need to be confirmed in other studies, it is possible that information on childhood height could be used to identify more accurately children who are likely to be obese in later life," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: Pediatrics