title: Overweight and obesity between adolescence and young adulthood: a 10-year prospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess changes in overweight and obesity between adolescence and young adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective 8-wave cohort study in Victoria, Australia, with 1,520 adolescents tracked from the age of 14 for a period of 10 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants aged <18 years were classified as non-overweight, overweight, or obese according to International Obesity Taskforce cutoff points. In those aged >18 years overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25; and obesity as a BMI ≥ 30.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of overweight individuals increased from 20% in mid-adolescence to 33% at the age of 24 years. Obesity increased from 3.6% to 6.7%. Approximately 40% of young adults with a BMI ≥ 25 had been persistently at normal weights during adolescence and approximately 80% had been at a normal weight at some point. Around half of obese young adults had never been classified as obese as adolescents. No individual with persistent obesity in adolescence had a BMI <25 at 24 years. A total of 31% of females and 59% of males who had been overweight for only one or two waves of adolescent data collection had a BMI ≥ 25 at 24 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Substantial shifts in overweight and obesity occur between adolescence and young adulthood; the extent of continuity depends on both the severity and persistence of adiposity in adolescence. Few adolescents who peak into obesity or are persistently overweight achieve a normal weight in young adulthood. Resolution is more common in those who are less persistently overweight as teenagers, suggesting scope for lifestyle interventions in this subgroup.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia. george.patton@rch.org.au
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coffey
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Carlin
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wake
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult