title: Lifestyle habits and obesity progression in overweight and obese American young adults: Lessons for promoting cardiometabolic health.
abstract: Obesity among young adults is a growing problem in the United States and is related to unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as high caloric intake and inadequate exercise. Accurate assessment of lifestyle habits across obesity stages is important for informing age-specific intervention strategies to prevent and reduce obesity progression. Using a modified version of the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (mEOSS), a new scale for defining obesity risk and predicting obesity morbidity and mortality, this cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of overweight/obese conditions in 105 young adults and compared their lifestyle habits across the mEOSS stages. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and one-way analyses of variance were performed. Eighty percent of participants (n = 83) fell into the mEOSS-2 group and had obesity-related chronic disorders, such as diabetes, hypertension, and/or dyslipidemia. There were significant differences in dietary quality and patterns across the mEOSS stages. Findings highlighted the significance of prevention and early treatment for overweight and obese young adults to prevent and cease obesity progression.
authors.affiliation: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: EunSeok
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Margeaux K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Akazawa
authors.affiliation: Posthumous, University of Pittsburgh, School of Education, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Colleen R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Hannah M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Umpierrez
authors.affiliation: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dunbar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D018450:Disease Progression; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018570:Risk Assessment; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cardiometabolic health; health promotion; lifestyle habits; obesity progression; young adults