Persistent Heaviness May Bring Higher Risk of Midlife Problems

"Persistent heaviness" is being fat.

People who have been consistently overweight since high school appear to be at greater risk of both chronic disease and social disadvantage by the time they're 40, researchers say.
A study of more than 5,200 individuals followed for 22 years found those who reported being heavy since their teens had a more than threefold increased risk of a chronic health problem by age 40 (OR 3.33, 95% CI 2.44 to 4.21, P<0.05), compared with those who started out with a normal body mass index (BMI) in high school and gradually gained weight, according to Philippa Clarke, MD, of the University of Michigan, and colleagues.

Persistently overweight people also had almost a twofold increased risk of being on welfare or unemployment (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.04, P<0.05), Clarke and co-authors reported online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"These findings highlight the importance of addressing persistent obesity and overweight early in the life course," they wrote.

Duh, yeah.