title: Overweight and obesity from childhood to adulthood: a follow-up of participants in the 1985 Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine overweight and obesity in Australian children followed through to adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort study of 8498 children aged 7-15 years who participated in the 1985 Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey; of these, 2208 men and 2363 women completed a follow-up questionnaire at age 24-34 years in 2001-2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  Height and weight were measured in 1985, and self-reported at follow-up. The accuracy of self-reported data was checked in 1185 participants. Overweight and obesity in childhood were defined according to international standard definitions for body mass index (BMI), and, in adulthood, as a BMI of 25-29.9 and > or =30 kg/m2, respectively, after correcting for self-report error.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In those with baseline and follow-up data, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in childhood was 8.3% and 1.5% in boys and 9.7% and 1.4% in girls, respectively. At follow-up, the prevalence was 40.1% and 13.0% in men and 19.7% and 11.7% in women. The relative risk (RR) of becoming an obese adult was significantly greater for those who had been obese as children compared with those who had been a healthy weight (RR = 4.7; 95% CI, 3.0-7.2 for boys and RR = 9.2; 95% CI, 6.9-12.3 for girls). The proportion of adult obesity attributable to childhood obesity was 6.4% in males and 12.6% in females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity in childhood was strongly predictive of obesity in early adulthood, but most obese young adults were a healthy weight as children.
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Alison.Venn@utas.edu.au
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Venn
authors.forename: Russell J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Verity J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Cleland
authors.forename: Beverley A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Curry
authors.forename: Hanni C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Gennat
authors.forename: Terence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dwyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight; D015995:Prevalence